JF Ptak Science Books   Quick Post

I found magnificent and early contour image of Ben Franklin in a tweet from Tim Wallace (@wallaectim) who found it in Appleton’s Cyclopedia of Technical Drawing (1893). (The full text of Appleton’s is here: https://archive.org/stream/appletonscyclopd01wort#page/100/mode/2up/search/franklin and a larger image of Franklin is located below.)

While checking out the fascinating Franklin in the text, I found an interesting graphic that locates a certain History of Importance in one tidy display. The graphic is in the section on topological drawing, and contains “conventional signs for the more important objects that are likely to be represented on a map”, at least for 1893:

All of this makes sense, of course, except perhaps for the surprise of locating taverns, which I think I’ve not noticed before in 19th map legends–it does make sense though, especially for more regional maps, as the tavern would be a central force for a small town, as well as operating as a possible hotel.  Many of the rest of the important things for a late 19th century map have slipped into obstructed memory, if not further.