June 14, 2012 |
The London Map Fair

Tim Bryars, an antiquarian map dealer and one of the co-organizers of this weekend's London Map Fair said, "The reason that the map fair has become an unmissable event for dealers, curators and collectors over the last thirty years is the sheer range of material that will be on offer." Bryars continued, "I know that I'm going to see maps I've never seen before, maps that I never heard of before, and maps that I want to buy."
Over forty international map dealers will be in attendance and prices will range from the entry level £10 to several hundred thousand pounds. In addition to maps, sea charts, globes, travel books, and atlases will all be on display. Several free lectures will be offered, including one on London's hidden rivers.
Bryars will be bringing several satirical maps to the fair, "including Louis Raemaekers' 1915 satirical map of Europe, which he titled 'het gekkenhuis' (roughly translates at ' the lunatic asylum'!)." Byars continued, "Raemekers made powerful enemies in Germany. The German government made the Dutch put him on trial for compromising Dutch neutrality, and after he was acquitted and fled to England they put a price of 12000 Guilders on his head, dead or alive! They took satire more seriously in those days."

"Maps are anything but neutral represenatations of parts of the world, made to the best abilities of the map-maker!"
The London Map Fair, with free admission, will take place this weekend:
Saturday, June 16th: 12:00 - 7:00 and Sunday, June 17th: 10.00 - 5:00 at
The Royal Geographical Society (RGS),
1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR
