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The reference to the digitised version of the first printed Ptolemy (1477 rather than 1462): http://mdz12.bib-bvb.de/~db/ausgaben/uni_ausgabe.html?projekt=1157526886 prompts me to ask if anybody has thought of, or might be interested in, the following: a listing of digitised early atlases. I have attempted on 'Map History', over the years, to document such efforts, if only in general terms, listing the atlas under the relevant region or 'World atlases', in the section 'Images of early maps on the web'. http://www.maphistory.info/webimages.html However, the body of such online publications is growing so fast that I am no longer keeping up with developments. This would seem to be an opportunity for a new initiative to which Map History would happily link. In the past, particularly with the series of volumes produced by Nico Israel (in the Theatrum Orbis Terratrum series), we had library access to a good selection of early atlases. We now have access to a much larger image library, accessible to all. Even though those digitised volumes are rarely provided with much commentary, and certainly not of the quality of the earlier printed volumes, they still represent a very valuable, and fast growing, resource. When the images are enlargeable to more than original size and at high resolution, and when such images can be compared side-by-side on a home or library computer, they represent a vital research tool. But do any of us know what is out there? Could most of us find an individual title, let alone an organised browsing list that served as an online index to all those unconnected efforts? Theoretically, it is all available to us (since nearly all such sites have free access). In practice, without tailored finding-aids, much of it must be missed by the scholars who could have benefitted. How many works of cartographic interest can be found among the Bavarian State Library's 4,200 titles? How could you find them? Such an index might be of value also to those institutions contemplating fresh digitisation. Would it not be better, when a selection of works was being made, to concentrate on those that had not been scanned already by others? If anybody thinks this an interesting project, I would be happy to offer any advice - if that was wanted. Tony Campbell [email protected]
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