Antique Maps:
Charting History
Antique maps are more than just geographical tools; they are snapshots of how our ancestors viewed their world. The market is broadly divided into two approaches: Vertical (collecting one region, like Warwickshire, across different centuries) and Horizontal (collecting diverse regions from one specific era or cartographer).
Great names to watch include John Speed and Joan Blaeu. Speed’s maps (early 17th century) are beloved for their decorative borders and English text, making them display pieces as much as historical documents.
Collector’s Tip: Colour is the critical debate in this niche. A map with “original colour” (applied at the time of printing) is worth significantly more than one “coloured later” (washed with watercolour in the Victorian era or modern day).
To spot the difference, look at the verso (back) of the map. Original pigment often oxidizes and bleeds through the paper slightly over 400 years, creating a “ghost” image on the back. Modern colouring usually sits on the surface without that tell-tale bleed.
