B36: The Roles of Old Maps:  History, Art, Cartography and the Building of Nations (6 units)
Time: Friday 9:30 -11:00 a.m.
Dates: April 4, 11, 18, 25, May 2 & 9
Place: Jefferson Library at Monticello*
Instructor: Joel Kovarsky
Limit: 20

Joel Kovarsky is an antiquarian map dealer and retired physician.  He has written a number of articles pertaining to the collecting and history of old maps, and was a speaker for the 2005 Virginia Festival of the Book. He has taken several courses at UVa’s Rare Book School, and has a Masters of Information Science, University of Tennessee. He is a frequent contributor to The Portolan (the journal of the Washington Map Society), and maintains extensive online resources for those interested in collecting old maps.

This is intended as an overview of the history of cartography. There will be discussions of the overlapping intellectual appeals for art, history, politics, and geography, and the intrinsic importance of maps as tools for society and the building and maintenance of nations. The bulk of the material discussed will be pre-twentieth-century.

Two of the six sessions will be held at  the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, at the University of Virginia, to see and discuss a few of their early maps, with particular focus on Virginia material. In addition to the standard lecture and slide format, there will be hands-on material from Dr. Kovarsky’s stock as teaching supplements throughout the course.

Suggested Reading: Akerman, James R. and Karrow, Robert W.  Jr. (eds.),  Maps: Finding Our Place in the World, The University of Chicago Press (co-published with the Field Museum) 2007, 336 pp. ill. ISBN:
978-0-226-01075-5. $55 full retail; less at amazon.com

Additional Resources on the Web:
www.theprimemeridian.com/collectorguide.htm
Annotated Bibliography:
www.theprimemeridian.com/bibliography.htm

*Note: Class will meet at the Jefferson Library at Monticello: http://www.monticello.org/library/ except on April 11 and May 2, when class will meet at UVa’s Special Collections Library.