My perfect Christmas present
January 9th 2009 22:35
Most people, when I tell them what I am about to tell you, either look scared and run away or nod caringly and pat me on the head. Occasionally, however, I find a kindred spirit. I recognise the common affliction because, instead of backing away, their eyes light up and their arms wave and they start jabbering foolishly.
About maps.
I love maps. Old ones, that is. When I see an old map my mind stands still, my imagination runs amok and many body parts go weak. Nothing else does this to me. Not contemplation of the perfect rose, the Milky Way on a moonless night or Cate Blanchett's smile.
Antique map collecting is in fact a substantial business. Maps are collected by national governments, libraries and museums both big and small, and people everywhere. Most people have only a mild form of what I shall term cartophiliasm and can enjoy old maps without suffering weak body parts.
I can't. I have to ration my time with my perfect Christmas present, a coffee table-sized collection of 200 fabulous old maps, with plenty of good reading under chapter headings such as The Development of Cartography, Types of Maps, and Major Figures in the History of Mapping.
For some, this evokes a sense of wondering what is on the TV. For me, it evokes a walk through the peoples and places of the past, a look at the pieces in the jigsaw puzzle of what the world is today.
Only one thing is as perfect as my book of maps, and that is the woman who gave it to me for Christmas. Thank you, my darling, for understanding.
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I hail your imagination. I have never dreamed of a map room. I will now.