This is a MapHist list message (when you hit 'reply' you're replying to the whole list) o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o +
Dear Histers: I am the "prominent member" of the New York Map Society referred to in Peter Dickson's email to the list dated March 14, 2010. I am not a scholar and do not pretend to be one. I presume that my prominence was that in my capacity as vice president of the NYMS, and due to the unavailability of our president, I presided over the meeting where Mr. Dickson was guest speaker. Mr. Dickson makes reference to a comment that I made about a "sensitive" unpublished essay written by a "Mr. X." I note that this morning on maphist, John W. Hessler responded to Mr. Dickson's email and identified himself as "Mr. X." In December 2008, John Hessler was a guest speak at the NYMS. In the question and answer period after his formal presentation, a question was raised about how far the Portuguese/Vespucci had sailed down the East Coast of South America. Mr. Hessler indicated that he had prepared an article that was unpublished that discussed the issue. As a curious layman, I asked Mr. Hessler if I could see a copy of his unpublished document and he agreed. It was emailed to me in the week following the meeting. Mr. Hessler did not indicate that the article was "sensitive" or that I should keep it in confidence. That is how I came into possession of a copy of the article. There is nothing more sinister than what I have described. According to Mr. Dickson, he also had a copy of the essay and I am aware that Mr. Hessler discussed the article with Mr. Fernandez-Armesto several times who cited it in his biography of Vespucci. The article by Hessler was neither sensitive nor confidential and was available for the asking even by someone who was a layman. My comment at the November meeting was an aside to Mr. Dickson's response a question, and no one, including Mr. Dickson, questioned me about what I had said. The New York Map Society has been privileged to have both Dickson and Hessler as guest speakers. In doing so, we are not promoting one view or another. Fredric Shauger, President New York Map Society
_______________________________________________ MapHist: E-mail discussion group on the history of cartography hosted by the Faculty of Geosciences, University of Utrecht. The statements and opinions expressed in this message are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Utrecht. The University of Utrecht does not take any responsibility for the views of the author. List Information: http://www.maphist.nl Maphist mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.geo.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/maphist
