First, many thanks for identifying for me the Mercator map in Issue 8.  I was pleased to find it confirmed my suspicions and boosted my ego!

In the April issue of your magazine you published an article by Debbie Hall - 'Wall Tiles and Free Parking' which referred to the maps smuggled to prisoners of war in Germany.  Recently, I visited the Cumberland Pencil Museum in Keswick and found on display three such maps and a hollow pencil in which the maps were enclosed.  Apparently they also managed to include a compass in the pencil under the eraser.  The pencils were stamped with a secret code denoting which map was contained within. 

Brian Cordon

The Editor:  An interesting addenda to our article, for which we are extremely grateful.

I have been having trouble finding any information on the net concering Paolo Santini (1729-1793). His name appears on my Guillaume De L'Isle map "Carte De Sicile" Any ideas??? 

Thank you, Bob

The Editor: The map referred to is:  CARTE DE L'ISLE ET ROYAUME DE SICILE PAR GUILLAUME DELISLES de l'Academie R.l des Sciences. A VENISE Par P. Santini 1779.  The map was first published in Santini's 'ATLAS UNIVERSEL DRESSE SUR LES MEILLEURES CARTES MODERNES 1776. A VENISE Chez P. Santini rue S.t Justine.'  The atlas is effectively an Italian copy of the Robert de Vaugondy 'Atlas Universel', and contains 123 maps, variously dated 1775 to 1780.  The atlas was reprinted in 1784 by Remondini, which gives a relatively short career span for Santini.  However, P. does not stand for 'Paolo', but seems to be an abbreviation for 'Pere' or Father.  Santini's Christian name was actually Francois.  Although he used Francois infrequently on the maps, the name does appears on the two maps of the World, Europe,  Spain, Portugal, and others, with the address as on the the title-page.  'Tooley's Dictionary of Mapmakers' (New York, Alan Liss, 1979) inadvertently includes Santini twice (as Francois and P.), and suggests that Francois was working in Paris.

I am new to map collecting.  I started about one month ago. I read your forum with great interest.  In Issue 6, under the "Auction" section, You made the following observations: 

"One of the features of the past view years is what had once seemed an endless supply of desirable material in loose sheet form has diminished rapidly." 

and 

"In the past two or three years the balance has started to shift in the opposite direction, towards the collecting of atlases." 

In your view, which one, loose sheet maps or atlas, will have better potential for appreciation in value? Do you recommend a new collect to start with loose sheet maps or atlas?  Will atlas have higher or lower value than the combined value of its maps if they are sold individually? 
 

The Editor: The answer really depends on how much a collector has available to spend on maps or atlases.  I would always advise that one buy the best that one can afford.  I think it clear now that the best atlases are generally selling either in auction or in the trade for more than the sum total of their contituent parts, and I think it reasonable to assume that this will continue, certainly in the short term, although it need not.  It is becoming harder and harder to find material at the top end of the market, while customers at this end have considerable wealth to deploy for an items they particularly want.  It should be born in mind, therefore, that you are purchasing in a booming market  There are problems with collecting individual maps of a particular region as an "investment", most particularly a dependence on the ecomomic and political health of that region.  In recent years, maps of some regions of the world have gone through "boom and bust" cycles, and even parts of the United States have periodically stagnated.  Thus the deposition of the Shah of Iran destroyed the market for maps of that region for many years.  As to investment potential, it is a fact that historically speaking, prices for individual maps and atlases have increased over time. I have never, and I am not sure that anyone actually has, attempted to compare the growth in prices, and then relate it to the performance of stocks and shares for example.  This is partly that the notion of 'Investing in Maps' is a relatively late phemomenon, really emerging in the late 1970's [I would confess here that my father, Roger Baynton-Williams, wrote a book of just that title in 1969, although the title was chosen for him as part of a series rather than a serious attempt to encourage investment].  The vast majority of collectors, before and since, are aware of values, but seem to regard this of secondary importance to the pleasure of searching out, owning and researching old maps.  I am going to sit on the fence about the wisdom of treating maps and atlases as an investment tool, but will be happy to publish letters by those that do have an opinion.

I am interested in obtaining an "art quality" reproduction of the Piri Reis Map.  I would prefer oversized dimensions.  I am not a professional collector, however, I do believe it is perhaps the single most thought provoking and controversial map known to exist.  Please advise.
 

The Editor: I'm afraid I don't know where you can get a facsimile, although I know Charles H Hapgood used one in his research for his book Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings. Perhaps you should contact the map's owners, the National Library, Ankara, Turkey. Do any readers know of one?