The Phantom Atlas: The Greatest Myths, Lies and Blunders on Maps

by Edward Brooke-Hitching

Overview

Discover the mysteries within ancient maps — Where exploration and mythology meet

This richly illustrated book collects and explores the colorful histories behind a striking range of real antique maps that are all in some way a little too good to be true.

Mysteries within ancient maps: The Phantom Atlas is a guide to the world not as it is, but as it was imagined to be. It's a world of ghost islands, invisible mountain ranges, mythical civilizations, ship-wrecking beasts, and other fictitious features introduced on maps and atlases through mistakes, misunderstanding, fantasies, and outright lies.

Where exploration and mythology meet: Author Edward Brooke-Hitching is a map collector, author, writer for the popular BBC Television program QI and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He lives in a dusty heap of old maps and books in London investigating the places where exploration and mythology meet.

Cartography’s greatest phantoms: The Phantom Atlas uses gorgeous atlas images as springboards for tales of deranged buccaneers, seafaring monks, heroes, swindlers, and other amazing stories behind cartography's greatest phantoms.

If you are a fan of this popular genre and a reader of books such as Prisoners of Geography, Atlas of Ancient Rome, Atlas Obscura, What If, Book of General Ignorance, or Thing Explainer, your will love The Phantom Atlas

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452168449
Publisher:	Chronicle Books LLC
Publication date:	04/03/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	149,067
File size:	58 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Edward Brooke-Hitching is an author, documentary filmmaker, and incurable cartophile. The son of an antiquarian book dealer, he lives in a dusty heap of old maps and books in London.

Table of Contents

Introduction 8

Strait of Anian 12

Antillia 18

Atlantis 24

Aurora Islands 30

Australia's Inland Sea 34

Bermeja 38

Bradley Land 42

Buss Island 46

City of the Caesars 50

Sea Monsters of the Carta Marina 54

Island of California 64

Cassiterides 68

Crocker Land 70

Croker's Mountains 76

Davis Land 80

Isle of Demons 84

Dougherty Island 88

Earthly Paradise 92

El Dorado 98

Flat Earth 102

Fonseca 106

Formosa (of George Psalmanazar) 110

Fusang 114

Gamaland and Compagnies Land 118

Great Ireland 122

Great River of the West 124

Groclant 128

Hy Brasil 130

Java La Grande 134

Juan De Lisboa 140

Lost City Of The Kalahari 142

Mountains Of Kong 146

Korea as an Island 150

Lost Continents of Lemuria and Mu 152

Maria Theresa Reef 156

Mayda 158

Mountains of the Moon 162

Lands of Benjamin Morrell 166

Norumbega 170

Creatures of the Nuremberg Chronicle Map 174

Patagonian Giants 182

Pepys Island 186

Territory Of Poyais 190

Kingdom of Prester John 194

Rhipaean Mountains 198

Rupes Nigra 200

St Brendan's Island 202

Sandy Island, New Caledonia 206

Sannikov Land 208

Satanazes 210

Saxenburgh Island 212

Sea of the West 216

Taprobana 220

Terra Australis 224

Thule 230

Sunken City of Vineta 234

Wak-Wak 238

Phantom Lands of the Zeno Map 240

Select Bibliography 246

Index 248

Acknowledgements and Credits 255

Editorial Reviews

02/01/2018
In this atlas of the world "as it was thought to be," cartophile Brooke-Hitching documents the persistence of fictitious places—Sandy Island in the eastern Coral Sea, for example, "existed" a full seven years after the launch of Google Maps. Early ghost places are understandable, explains the author—maps exaggerating the might of God's creation were common in the Middle Ages, for instance, and the dearth of accurate instruments on early ships are another culprit, as sailors often took mirages or clouds as landforms. Maps showing such intentional or accidental slips are apparently legion, and 58 of them, marking well-known "places" such as Atlantis as well as real locations that were mapped incorrectly ("Korea as an Island") are reproduced in color here, with the mistake (or wholesale fabrication) outlined in a few absorbing pages per entry. Additional images provide magnified views of portions of maps and period paintings, engravings, etc. The images are small, sometimes making map labels illegible, though as this is more a browsing item than a scholarly one, it is still suitable as a library purchase. VERDICT An intriguing look at how maps can shape our worldview; optional for history collections.—Henrietta Verma, National Information Standards Organization, Baltimore

Library Journal

02/05/2018
This collection of cartographic errors from maps throughout history provides an entertaining glimpse into the spread of misinformation during the age of exploration. Brooke-Hitching (Fox Tossing) arranges his subjects alphabetically and begins with the “Strait of Anian,” a misconceived western terminus to the Northwest Passage from the 14th century, and ends with the “Zeno Map,” based on an unsubstantiated exploration of the North Atlantic by the Zeno brothers in the 15th century. Reproductions of mistaken maps accompany each entry, along with theories of the errors’ possible origins and accounts of their final erasures from the annals of geography. Some entries are for places that exist, but at one point were improperly described, as with a California that appears as its own island on hundreds of maps from the 17th and 18th centuries, a mistake that the author tracks back to the 1602 voyage of Sebastian Vizcaíno. Though much of the book covers familiar ground in documenting accounts of nonexistent lands such as Atlantis, El Dorado, Hy Brasil, and Thule, a section on the fantastic creatures, including the Sea Pig and the Hippocentaur, that appear in the marginalia of many maps sets this atlas apart from the mass of other books on the subject. Cartophiles will find much to amuse themselves. Color illus. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"What makes Brooke-Hitching's book more than just a collection of oddities is the emphasis on why these errors happen, and how relying on religion at the exclusion of science, or valuing outsider reports ahead of indigenous knowledge, detrimentally impacted centuries of exploring."
-Hyperallergic

""The Phantom Atlas" will prove rewarding for armchair adventurers and nautical historians. For more intrepid souls, it affords an indispensable guide to legendary sites or, just possibly, remote realms waiting to be reclaimed. Don't forget to bring a camera."
- The Wall Street Journal

"The Phantom Atlas is charmingly written, stunningly illustrated, and elegantly presented (kudos to designer Keith Williams). Even if your passport is stamped to a fare-thee-well, this beguiling book will be an eye-opener - one eye for Arimaspi, four for Nisyti. It tempts travelers toward destinations they will never reach."
-The Santa Fe New Mexican

"Ever seen a map of the flat world? Or an illustration of the 'Patagonian giants,' a race of nine-foot-tall humans that graces 16th-century maps of South America? In his curious, illustrated book, Brooke-Hitching explores the map mistakes of yore, from innocent mistakes (fog that sailors mistook for islands) to straight-up lies (fake countries, dreamed up to trick investors out of money)."
-AFAR magazine

"Excellent. Well researched, crisply written and lavishly illustrated . . . Beguiling."
-Times Literary Supplement

"Fascinating...Mr. Brooke-Hitching, by examining these erroneous maps, delves deep into the history of exploration and the fantastical misconceptions of cartographers."
-Wall Street Journal

"From the magnetic mountain at the north pole to Australia's inland sea, Edward Brooke-Hitching charts five centuries of misrepresentative maps."
-The Guardian

"In this atlas of the world 'as it was thought to be,' cartophile Brooke-Hitching documents the persistence of fictitious places-Sandy Island in the eastern Coral Sea, for example, 'existed' a full seven years after the launch of Google Maps. Early ghost places are understandable, explains the author-maps exaggerating the might of God's creation were common in the Middle Ages, for instance, and the dearth of accurate instruments on early ships are another culprit, as sailors often took mirages or clouds as landforms. Maps showing such intentional or accidental slips are apparently legion, and 58 of them, marking well-known "places" such as Atlantis as well as real locations that were mapped incorrectly ("Korea as an Island") are reproduced in color here, with the mistake (or wholesale fabrication) outlined in a few absorbing pages per entry... An intriguing look at how maps can shape our worldview."
-Library Journal

"Maritime map fanatics rejoice...this compilation of lively, skillfully illustrated stories about myths, mysteries, and imaginings as recorded on maps holds something for everyone, young and old."
-Sea History magazine

"The Phantom Atlas also provides a fascinating glimpse into the history of map making, and how our view of the world has evolved to the picture we have today. Editing is a laborious task even today, and one can only imagine how tough the task was in the Middle Ages, as cartographers only had limited information and the anecdotes of wayward seafarers. The temptation is often strong to simply embellish and fill in the gaps on maps with islands and lands that, while they tell a good tale, simply do not exist."
-AstroGuyz.com

"This collection of cartographic errors from maps throughout history provides an entertaining glimpse into the spread of misinformation during the age of exploration....Cartophiles will find much to amuse themselves."
-Publishers Weekly

"Unreservedly recommended."
-The Monocle

From the Publisher