The letterers, airbrushers, hachurists and drafters who made the best maps are dead or retired. But their techniques can live again: with fastidious work and artists who care, the future can have beautiful maps.
The best maps lie ahead.
Lake Tahoe Bathymetry, 2020
9x12x2” illuminated print. Maps by the U.S. Forest Service, Tahoe bathymetry by Evan Applegate.
New York City, 1977
24x34” illuminated print. Maps by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Los Angeles Vegetation,
2018
12x16” illuminated print. Map by Evan Applegate, illustrations by Ezra Butt.
Trees of the Tongass National Forest,
2018
16x20” illuminated print. Map by Evan Applegate, hand-lettered by Ezra Butt, illustrations by Matt Strieby and Aiyana Udesen.
Plan de Paris, 1739
48x72” illuminated print. Map by Michel-Etienne Turgot, Louis Bretez, Claude Lucas.
The City of New York, 1883
16x20” illuminated print. Map by Parsons & Atwater.
Tahoe’s Forests, 2020
48x72” illuminated print. Maps by the U.S. Forest Service, Tahoe bathymetry by Evan Applegate.
The Hudson River Valley, 1960s
48x72” illuminated print. Maps by the U.S. Geological Survey
Lake Tahoe Bathymetry
9x12x2” illuminated print. Maps by the U.S. Forest Service, Tahoe bathymetry by Evan Applegate.
Manhattan, 1977
9x12” illuminated print. Maps by the U.S. Geological Survey.
New York City, 1977
24x34” illuminated print. Maps by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Tahoe’s Forests, 2020
48x72” illuminated print. Maps by the U.S. Forest Service, Tahoe bathymetry by Evan Applegate.
Los Angeles Vegetation,
2018
12x16” illuminated print. Map by Evan Applegate, illustrations by Ezra Butt.
Trees of the Tongass National Forest,
2018
16x20” illuminated print. Map by Evan Applegate, hand-lettered by Ezra Butt, illustrations by Matt Strieby and Aiyana Udesen.
The best maps lie ahead.
The letterers, airbrushers, hachurists and drafters who made the best maps are dead or retired. But their techniques can live again: with fastidious work and artists who care, the future can have beautiful maps.
