6th International Conference on the History of Cartography
7-11 September 1975 — Greenwich (London)

Held at the National Maritime Museum in celebration of the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. Principal coordinators were Eila Campbell, Sarah Tyacke, Helen Wallis, J. Brian Harley, T. H. Adams, and Merle Abbott. Attendance estimates vary from over 160 from 15 countries to some 200 from 23 countries, and conference languages were English and French.

There were six themes:”Techniques for studying old maps,” “Documentary records of the use of maps, charts, and globes,” “The evolution of the marine chart and sailing directions,” “Dissemination of cartographical ideas,” “Changing techniques of surveying, map and chart production,” “Urban mapping.”

Exhibitions were

1. “The Cartographic Treasures of the Bodleian Library,” at Oxford’s Bodleian Library (catalog:Cartographic Treasures in the Bodleian Library:Catalogue of an Exhibition… (Oxford, 1975) (33pp);
2. at the National Maritime Museum, on their map and atlas collection.

The exhibition “300 Years of Astronomy at Greenwich” at the museum (catalog:Greenwich Observatory:300 Years of Astronomy, ed. C. A. Ronan (London, 1975) coincided with the conference, as did an exhibition at the British Library on the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War (catalog:The American War of Independence, 1775-83 (London, 1975)), of which the ICHC participants enjoyed a private viewing.

There was an evening hydrofoil excursion down the Thames to Mapsellers, a new dealer, and also a train trip to Oxford.

There were 27 papers, with full texts distributed on arrival of guests, and a booklet of abstracts was published.Of the papers, eight were published full in Imago Mundi, 28 (1976) (Kish, Ravenhill, Robinson, Satzinger, Schilder, Teixeira da Mota, de Vorsey, Walters).

Papers 6th ICHC

1. Ahmad, S. M. on: Islamic cartography in the ninth century A.D.
2. Andrews, J. H. on: the purposes of cartometric anaysis of old maps.
3. Babicz, Józef. on: Nicolas Germanus’s atlas of 1473.
4. Baynes-Cope, Arthur. on: the scientific examination of the physical and chemical composition of the materials of old maps and charts.
5. Campbell, Tony. Martin Llewellyn’s Atlas of the East (c. 1598) (10pp)
6. Cobbe, Hugh. on: a late 16th century map of the Suffolk coast.
7. Desreumaux, Roger. Aspects de la cartographie des voies de communication en Hainaut-Cambrésis au XVIIIe siecle.
8. Destombes, Marcel. Quelques rares cartes nautiques néerlandaises du XVIIe siècle. (15pp) (This does not seem to accord with Tyacke’s description of the paper given, in which, she says, “Destombes described his identification of four Dutch eight-sheet wall maps of the continents… [and] also communicated the results of some of his discoveries in the library of the Sorbonne.”)
9. Dilke, Owen A. W. on: Roman large scale plans.
10. Ehrensvärd, Ulla. on: Peter Gedda’s maritime atlas of the Baltic, 1694-95.
11. Friis, Herman. on: official maps published in American state papers from 1774 to 1861.
12. Hyde, Ralph. on: a series of large scale parish maps for London, made in accord with the Parochial Assessments Act of 1836.
13. Kish, George. on: Early Thematic Mapping:The Work of Philippe Buache. (Title as published in IM, 28)
14. Marshall, Douglas W. on: the importance of the relationship between types of maps produced and their use.
15. McGrath, Gerald. on: the beginnings of topographic mapping in East Africa until 1914.
16. Ravenhill, William. “As to Its Position in Respect to the Heavens.” (18pp)
17. Ristow, Walter W. Robert Mills’ Atlas of South Carolina, 1825:The First American State Atlas.
18. Ritchie, G. S. 500 Years of Graphical and Symbolical Representation on Marine Charts. (Title as published in International Hydrographical Review, 53(1976),1, 141-53.)
19. Robinson, Arthur H. Nathaniel Blackmore’s Plaine Chart of Nova Scotia:Isobaths in the Open Sea? (Title as published in IM, 28)
20. Satzinger, Walter. The “Grosse Atlas von Deutschland” Edited by Johann Wilhelm Abraham Jaeger, Frankfurt, 1789. (15pp)
21. Schilder, Günter Organization and Development of the Dutch East IndiaCompany’s Hydrographic Office in the 17th Century. (11pp)
22. Smet, Antoine de. on: the interaction of cartographic and geographical ideas between England and the Low Countries in the 16th century.
23. Smith, Thomas R. on: a 1626 manuscript chart of the Mediterranean by Nicholas Comberford, and other English chartmakers.
24. Teixeira da Mota, A. Some Notes on the Organization of Hydrographical Services in Portugal before the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century. (Title as published in IM, 28)
25. Vorsey, Louis de. Pioneer Charting of the Gulf Stream:The Work of Benjamin Franklin and William Gerard de Brahm. (37pp)
26. Walters, G. Thomas Pennant’s Map of Scotland 1777. A Study in Sources and an Introduction to George Paton’s Role in the History of Scottish Cartography. (15pp)
27. Wellens, Robert. on: the plans by Jacques-Joseph Plon (1638-1755), in archives in Brussels and Mons.

References

Imago Mundi 28(1976): 142-43 (Tyacke)
Geographical Journal 142(1976): 175-76 (Gardiner)
Cartographic Journal 12(1975): 130 (Abbot)
Kartographische Nachrichten 25(1975): 244-45 (Scharfe)
Society of University Cartographers, Bulletin 10(1976) 2: 82-83 (Lowcock)
Polski przegląd kartograficzny 8(1976) 1: 45-46 (Gurba)
地図 Chizu [Map] 14(1976) 1: 27-34 (Kanazawa) (in Japanese)
Special Libraries Association, Geography and Map Division, Bulletin 102 (1975): 23 (Ristow)(very little information).