Maps have so ancient a history that it is not possible to ascertain their first beginning. Map-making is probably the oldest of the graphic arts, for it is common to all primitve peoples. For example, the Inuits constructed maps of their own coasts hardly inferior to British Admiralty charts. Marshall islanders preserve a knowledge of their won localities by a sequence of palm leaves and sea shells, a native of Tahiti drew a map of an area nearly 3,000 miles in length for Captain Cook, and even the aborigines of Australia use stones and sand as geographical symbols in their initiation ceremonies. Higher civilizations--Egyptian, Greek, Babylonian, Chinese and Incan--produced, not only factual maps, bu geographical theories in remote antiquity. Cortes travelled 1,000 miles through Central America guided only by a calico map provided by a local caique. The Babylonians are credited with being the first to divide the ecliptic into 12 signs and later 360 degrees.

It is in maps of greater of lesser antiquity that it is possible to trace with the greates economy of effort the growth and spread of towns or their decline, the vicissitudes of agriculture, industry, of great estates and common land, the survival or development of lines of communication, varying types of roads, rights of way, and later of canals and railways. Place-names change, the sea erodes land and towns away, rivers re-route their courses. All these facts may be examine in old maps. However, it is probably the decorative quality or sheer beauty that constitutes the largest appeal for map collectors.

Maps are a kind of pictorial history, and show national taste and characteristics, and the pattern of design through the ages. Nearly all periods have had some main decorative motif common to all Western countries, but with a national twist in each.

From the iconographic maps of the fifteenth century to the amazing accuracy and detail of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, maps give us an exciting perspective on the contemporary world.

The value of original maps depends on the reputation of the map maker, the subject he depicts, the size of the edition, and the scarcity of that particular image in the market today. Note the condition--many maps show wear because of their size and use--and the coloring, which should be of the period.

Bibliography:
Tooley's Maps and Mapmakers.