Previously: Orthographic Papercraft Ornament; This Year’s Papercraft Globe Ornament; John Nelson’s Cassini Globe Ornament; John Nelson’s Dymaxion Globe Ornaments; DIY Map Ornaments.

Daniel Huffman’s map projection trading cards are making a comeback. “While my colleagues and I did our best to let everyone know about these cards, some people inevitably missed out during the first print run. I’ve had many people contact me asking and hoping to get their hands on a pack or two. So, I am bringing them back for one final print run via Kickstarter,” writes Huffman. “I hope you’ll share this widely, so that we don’t miss anyone this time around, as this is almost certainly the last time these cards will be printed.”

Previously: Map Projection Trading Cards.

The Newberry’s David Weimer explains the presence, in a 1598 map of the Arctic Circle, of a man in a red coat riding in a sleigh pulled by reindeer.

Maps Mania links to two Santa trackers: NORAD’s and Google’s.

In a post from last year, James Cheshire notes how Indian and Chinese laws about depicting their contested borders are reflected in Christmas ornaments made in each country. [Mappery]

Previously: This Year’s Papercraft Globe Ornament; John Nelson’s Cassini Globe Ornament; John Nelson’s Dymaxion Globe Ornaments; DIY Map Ornaments.

Daniel Huffman’s map projection trading cards are now a thing you can order. Daniel, earlier this month:

A couple months back, I floated an idea for making some fun trading cards based on map projections. I’m very happy to report that several dozen of you responded and contributed designs to help make the set happen. I’ve been spending several weeks on managing everyone and working through logistics, and I’m pleased to now be able to offer a pre-order of The Projection Collection.

The cards can be pre-ordered here, with delivery later this year (or pickup at NACIS). Each pack has 16 cards, with complete sets not available by design—these are meant to be trading cards in the classic sense. Pre-orders will close on July 6, so you have until then.

It’s a Spalding ball exclusive to Urban Outfitters, it costs $29, and it hurts my brain. [r/Maps]

In what is now an annual tradition, John Nelson has released another do-it-yourself papercraft globe ornament; John says that this “this year’s ornament craft is the most straightforward yet! Just some cutting and pasting and high fives all around.”

Previously: John Nelson’s Cassini Globe Ornament; John Nelson’s Dymaxion Globe Ornaments; DIY Map Ornaments.

(Actually no, check that, this year I’m late; and last year I didn’t post one at all except for this stationery guide.)

—I post a gift guide that lists some of the noteworthy books about maps that have been published this year.

(Actually . . . this year not very many books were published. Thanks, pandemic. I’ve had to expand my scope a bit this year.)

If you have a map-obsessed person in your life and would like to give them something map-related—or you are a map-obsessed person and would like your broad hints to have something to link to—this guide may give you some ideas.

Please keep in mind that this is not a list of recommendations: what’s here is mainly what I’ve spotted online, and there’s probably a lot more out there. Also, I haven’t so much as seen most of what’s here, much less reviewed it: these are simply things that, based on what information I have available, seem fit for giving as gifts. (Anyone who tries to parlay this into “recommended by The Map Room” is going to get a very sad look from me.)

This post contains affiliate links; I receive a cut of the purchase price if you make a purchase via these links.

Books

The pandemic has wreaked havoc on the publishing industry, and the effects of paper shortages are clear to see on both the publishing schedule and the availability of already published books. The fall publishing season is the season for general-interest map books, and in particular coffee-table map books, which tend to make rather good gifts for the map obsessed. But as far as I can see, books of that sort that have been published in 2021 are few to none—and I can’t say I’m surprised.

That said, the most interesting-looking book to come out this year that would be fit for these purposes is James Cheshire and Oliver Uberti’s Atlas of the Invisible (Particular, £25; W. W. Norton, $40); see my earlier post about the book for more information and links.
Amazon (Canada, UK) | Bookshop

Though I haven’t seen it, or much about it, another book that looks to have some potential is Matt Brown and Rhys B. Davies’s Atlas of Imagined Places (Batsford, £25); trouble is, it appears to be out of stock in most places at the moment.
Amazon (Canada, UK) | Bookshop

For a list of map books published in 2021 that is as complete as I can make it, see the Map Books of 2021 page. Or see the page for 2020’s books, since for various reasons I wasn’t able to manage a gift guide last year.

World Atlases

World atlases make fine if large gifts, and there are atlases for every price point. The main atlas lines are the National Geographic, the Oxford, and the Times.

The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World (Collins, £150) is the more or less undisputed king of atlases, but the Times Atlas line comes in smaller and more affordable editions: from largest to smallest, they are the Comprehensive, the Concise, the Universal, the Reference, the Desktop and the (diminutive!) Mini. Each of these is updated every four years or so: in 2021 it was the turn of the Reference and the Mini; in 2020 it was the Concise; in 2019 it was the Desktop and the Universal; in 2018 it was the Comprehensive. I would have expected to see a new Comprehensive next year, but this year the publisher put out an updated reprint of the 15th edition (changes are outlined here), so who knows. I reviewed the 15th edition three years ago.

The Oxford Atlas of the World (Oxford University Press, $90) which is roughly equivalent in size and price to the Times Concise, is updated every single year—that’s its unique selling proposition. I note too that Oxford University Press also has smaller atlases in its line: the New Concise and Essential atlases were updated in 2021.

• Oxford Atlas of the World, 28th ed. (2021), $90:
  Amazon (Canada, UK) | Bookshop
• Oxford New Concise World Atlas, 6th ed. (2021), $40:
  Amazon (Canada, UK) | Bookshop
• Oxford Essential World Atlas, 8th ed. (2021), $25:
  Amazon (Canada, UK) | Bookshop

The National Geographic Atlas of the World ($215) comes in one size—large—and its maps are the in the style you expect from National Geographic: if you prefer those to the usual relief maps, this is your atlas. Its most recent edition, the 11th, came out in 2019 (see previous entry). (National Geographic does have other atlases at other price points.)
Amazon (Canada, UK) | Bookshop

Children’s Books

Two children’s atlases were published this year, both with a list price of $15:

• Children’s World Atlas from Arcturus
  Amazon (Canada, UK) | Bookshop
• National Geographic Kids World Atlas, 6th ed.
  Amazon (Canada, UK) | Bookshop

Last year two children’s books about Marie Tharp were published: see this post from July 2020 for details and links.

The GeoHipster Calendar

The GeoHipster 2022 Calendar ($16) features 14 maps solicited through a call for contributions earlier this year. “Complete with quirky ‘holidays’ and other historical notes designed to pique your geo-curiosity, this is more than your everyday average map calendar!” Lulu

A Swiss Jigsaw Puzzle

Thanks to this tweet from Tom Patterson, I stumbled across this 2,000-piece jigsaw puzzle of a relief map of Switzerland (40 CHF). Carta-Media

The LEGO World Map

The LEGO World Map ($250/€250/£230/C$350), in all its 11,695-piece glory, appears to be available at some retailers after being awfully hard to find on launch earlier this year.
Amazon (Canada, UK) | LEGO Store

Wall Prints

For the past year or so Anton Thomas has been working on Wild World, a pictorial map of the natural world (previously). The whole map is expected to be completed next year, but right now Anton is selling limited-edition prints of the map’s Australasian corner in A2 and A3 sizes.

Stationery

If map-themed postcards, notecards and sets of paper and envelopes are your thing—and they certainly are mine—last year I posted a guide to map stationery.

The Leventhal Map Center Has an Online Store

Finally, the Norman B. Leventhal Map and Information Center at the Boston Public Library finally has an online store. Selection is limited—a few catalogues, a map print, coasters and some map stationery—and shipping isn’t quite available yet: you have to pick up your purchases at the Leventhal. But it’s a start.

Lego’s recently announced world map is 104 cm by 65 cm (41 × 26 inches) and has a staggering 11,695 pieces. Part of the Lego Art series aimed at adults, it’s built basically pixel-by-pixel, and comes with pin pieces to mark locations once it’s finished.

Lego says that you can customize the oceans in any number of colours or patterns, but it seems to me, based on the building instructions, that there’s nothing stopping you from doing the continents completely differently as well. You’re not physically limited to the three choices the instructions give you: Europe and Africa in the centre, the Americas in the centre, or Asia and Australia in the centre. You could do a different map projection, or even a different globe. But that’s the point of Lego, isn’t it?

Anyway, it’s available as of this week for US$250/€250/£230/C$350; it’s already out of stock at the online store but may be available through other channels. [Boing Boing]

Previously: A Guide to Map Stationery.

Last year John released a set of Dymaxion ornaments. The year before that, a more complex geodesic globe ornament. This is now officially a tradition, John.

This post is a roundup of what map-themed stationery for correspondence I’ve been able to find. It can serve as a gift guide, if map-themed stationery strikes you as a good gift; the holidays, after all, are coming up. As usual, I link to stores selling the stuff; I get a small cut of the income from qualifying purchases.

Postcards

We’ll start with postcards. Cavallini’s vintage map postcards, which came out in 2012 and were reviewed here in 2016, come in a stylish metal tin that contains 18 cards, two each of nine designs. They’re printed on heavy, non-glossy card stock that foxes around the edges a bit, and on a per-card basis they’re comparatively expensive ($12.50). Amazon (Canada, UK)

Notecards

Next up are notecards, which are basically blank greeting cards that come either flat or folded. They give you a bit more space to write than a postcard does, but you’re not escalating things to an Actual Letter. Notecards are great and I use them a lot, though they can sometimes be a challenge to find. Most of these came out a few years ago and may not necessarily be in stock where you shop.

Another thing to keep in mind that some notecards are too small to be mailed: they’re meant to be enclosed or attached. Some are large enough for mail in the U.S. but not elsewhere, because the minimum width standards are different: five inches (127 mm) wide in the U.S. and 140 mm elsewhere in the world.

California artist Wendy Gold uses maps and globes as her canvas; she’s licensed her work to appear on various products, including the Maps of the Imagination notecards ($13.99), which came out in 2014. They come 16 to a box, in four designs where wildlife and other vibrant elements explode from ordinary world maps. They’re large enough for mailing, and the envelopes are classy as heck: I’ve used these cards myself. Amazon (Canada, UK), Bookshop

teNeues has two sets of vintage maps themed notecards: the QuickNotes ($13.95), which includes 20 cards in four designs based on a celestial atlas by Andreas Cellarias; and the GreenNotes ($10.95), which comes in eco-friendly packaging and includes 16 cards in eight designs based on Joan Blaeu’s maps. (QuickNotes are five inches wide and as such are a hair too small for mailing outside the United States; I don’t know if the same goes for the GreenNotes.)

• teNeues Vintage Maps GreenNotes: Amazon (Canada, UK)
• teNeues Vintage Maps QuickNotes: Amazon (Canada, UK)

A set of boxed notecards featuring MacDonald Gill’s Wonderground Map of London came out in 2018 and appears to be hard to find; a video from one bookseller describing the set is here.

Searching Etsy for map notecards turns up several other possibilities.

Correspondence Sets: Paper and Envelopes

Dutch publisher Pepin Press has a number of historical map themed stationery products. They include notepads, envelopes, and a complete letter-writing set. The notepads come in both A5 (€9.95) and A4 (€17.50) sizes; each contains 64 sheets of 120gsm paper that is backed with a reproduction of a historical map; half the sheets are lined and half are blank. The envelopes are DL-sized—suitable for A4- and letter-sized paper folded into thirds—and come in packs of 25 (€12.95). The letter-writing set (€19.95) comes with 40 sheets of A5 paper, 40 C6 envelopes, plus stickers and labels.

• Historical Maps A4 Notepad: Amazon (Canada, UK)
• Historical Maps A5 Notepad: Amazon (Canada, UK)
• Historical Maps DL Envelopes: Amazon (UK)
• Maps Letter Writing Set: Amazon (Canada, UK)

Finally, JAM Paper produces paper and envelopes made from recycled paper maps. Paper is available in letter (8½×11) size; the map is on the back. Envelopes come in various sizes; #10, A6 and 6×9 are in stock at the moment. A stationery set ($17.50) includes 12 sheets of map paper and 12 envelopes, the latter either #10 or 9×12).

• JAM Paper Map Stationery: Amazon
• JAM Paper Map Design Paper: Amazon

Updates

• Map notecards and A5 notepads from San Lorenzo Design (25 Jan 2021)

Something to add to our list of map-based Christmas ornaments: John Nelson’s papercraft Dymaxion globe ornaments. In three colours. Print, cut, fold, enjoy.

Previously: Waldseemüller Globe Ornament; DIY Map Ornaments.

Per standing IKEA policy, New Zealand is not shown.

The reviews on the U.S. store are hilarious, but on the U.K. store the single a review on the U.K. says that the globe is chalkboard (it’s made of polystyrene), which makes the product a good deal less absurd. Otherwise, it occurs to me that it could make a halfway decent base on which you could paste your own globe gores. [Cartophilia]

This, believe it or not, is a coin—a coin in the shape of a map of Canada, with various animals forming the shape of each province and territory. The design was created by Ottawa illustrator Ali Giroux, who posted it online as a letterpress map. Then, as CBC News and CTV News report, the Royal Canadian Mint came calling.

Commemorative coins aren’t cheap. This one is made of three ounces of pure silver and sells for $340 (Canadian). It is being produced in a mintage of 2,000 and will ship in December.

(And yes, despite its weirdo shape, it is a real coin: the Queen is on the other side, a traditional, coin-shaped portrait embedded in the centre. It has a face value of $50, but that’s only if you want to use it to pay a bill or something, and who’d do that with this?)

Meanwhile, Caitlin has a roundup of guides to making your own map-based Christmas ornaments. They include John Nelson’s printable geodesic globe ornament, a decoupage ornament made by gluing map cutouts onto a round ornament, and ornaments made by recycling old maps.

Previously: Waldseemüller Globe Ornament.

Sometimes called a Rubik’s globe, though Rubik had nothing to do with it, this Hungarian-made globe puzzle from the 1980s, known variously as the Földgöm, Globus Gömb or Varázs Gömb, sometimes shows up on the lists of collectibles dealers. Consisting of a plastic core and tin surface pieces, the puzzle operates on two axes; the eight corners do not move. Jaap’s Puzzle Page has details on its origins and how to solve it, and also shows a couple of non-geographical globe puzzle variants. Here’s a short blog post from the Retro Game Museum (in Hungarian). And here’s an unboxing video from someone who bought a globe (bundled with a Rubik’s cube) on eBay. [Harvard Map Collection]

I didn’t know Replogle made Christmas ornaments. I stumbled across the above, a Waldseemüller globe ornament—i.e., an ornament based on the Waldseemüller globe gores—while poking around my local map store for the first time in years. I bought the last one they had in stock. It’s 3¼″ (8.3 cm) in diameter, comes with a stand, and cost me all of $10. There’s apparently a Coronelli globe ornament as well.

No links to point you at. Amazon doesn’t stock them (though they have other globe ornaments, like this one and this one), and Replogle’s terrible website is Flash-only.

Two recent map-related Kickstarter campaigns:

1. Modern Map Art Prints turns a map of a location of your choice into an abstract art print. Already funded.
2. Map on Table aims to create a small (42×42 cm) table made up of a laser-cut metal map of New York, London or the world mounted on wooden legs (see above). Not yet funded; campaign runs until 17 October.

[The Verge, Mapping London]

Oblotzky’s SA Metro is a custom keycap set for mechanical keyboards “inspired by big city transit maps.” I know you don’t look at the keys when touch typing, but … man. [Boing Boing]

Previously: Map Shower Curtain and Bikini; More Map Shower Curtains; Sea Monster Shower Curtain.

The Global Map is a neat toy from the 1940s. The whole thing is just under one by two feet in area, and consists of two rotating hemispheres that touch at a single point, with the purpose of showing the shortest distance by air or sea between two points—a quick and dirty way of showing a great-circle route with a bit of cardboard and no math. From the David Rumsey Map Collection. [Maps on the Web]

Mini Metros shrinks and simplifies 220 subway and light rail systems; the end result fits on a single sheet. Its creator, Peter Dovak, explains the challenge of making small and simple representations of sometimes inordinately complex transit systems:

All of the cities in the project had the same requirements: they had to fit in a 120px circle (with 10px of padding), the lines had to be 3px wide with a minimum of another 3px between the next parallel line, and all diagonals had to be 45-degrees. The systems themselves needed to be full-fledged heavy rail metro systems or light rail networks that were distinct enough from trolleys or streetcars.

Prints and mugs are available. [Maptitude]

This morning’s post about the AuthaGraph World Map reminded me of Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion map (which after all was explicitly referenced by its creator). Designer Brendan Ravenhill has produced a version of Fuller’s map in the form of a magnetic folding globe. Wired: “Like Fuller’s original map, Ravenhill’s globe can exist in two or three dimensions. Laid flat, it’s a series of 20 triangles that show Fuller’s projection as a single landmass. The back of each triangle features a magnet so you can fold the map into an angular globe. ‘Really it’s a toy, but a toy that has a lot of resonance and importance,’ Ravenhill says.” $15 each, in three colours. [Sociative GIS]

Previously: MacDonald Gill Exhibition in San Diego; MacDonald Gill’s Wonderground Map.

Retired graphic designer Don Moyer is producing a sea monster shower curtain, inspired by the iconic beasties found on early modern European maps and based on a sea monster print he created last year. It’s a Kickstarter project, but since it’s already been funded, it’s definitely happening. So if your world map shower curtain is beginning to fray, here’s an alternative. [Mental Floss]