Period map questions

[nofarb38]

Gentlemen,
I have a question concerning reproducing period topo maps. I'm doing an Engineer impression for Monacacy and have a couple questions. First question is. How did they make colored maps? I've seen a bunch. It looked to me that it wasn't ink that they used because there were no ink splotches etc. I was leaning towards colored pencils? How far off base am I?
Second question. What would be a good paper to use to replicate these maps? The bigger the better. i've never handled a period map, only seen pictures. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Period map questions

Engraving;

The maps were printed with a version of lythography called aquatint.

Steel plates are hand engraved and then printed. Additional plates are produced with the same dimentions for each color required. So, as I understand it, if a map was in three colors it would require four engraved plates to produce a run. One map or print would pass through the press, so to speak, as many times as a seperate color was needed.

Some color seperation on engravings is produced with masking a process called rubylith.

I am not sure if aquatint and rubylith are period terms. The steel plate engraving was common though. It produced an line much finer than most wood block prints.

Some period Western* engraving and printing schools were influenced by Japanese wood block prints that were becoming popular in America and England. These beautiful prints are known for their color and detail.

Pencils;

I have a period field topo set and it does include several colored pencils, in earth tones; ochre, umber, sienna etc. All natural colors. The pigment in them is very soft but not greasy like oil pastels. Inking a map of a surveyed area in the field, it tinting for clarity would be interesting and very challenging.

I use Bruynzeel pencils from Holland, hard to find off-line but well worth it. You will need to remove the modern finish from the shafts.
Bruynzeel produces the traditional hard paste colored pencil as well as watercolor pencils.

Paper;

Any linen rag paper will do. Heavy laid paper is appropriate. It should be easy to find lime bleached rag papers.
Be aware that you may get a great period style paper but with very modern watermarks, so look out for that.

Rag paper is just what it sounds like, paper made from fibers of non-wood origin, including actual linen and cotton rags and cotton linters. Most modern rag papers contain from 2-100% cotton fiber pulp. Try to find linen.

In short, strips of linen cloth shredded and pounded into mush called pulp. Sizing can be added at this point. The wet pulp is then poured onto screens to dry then pressed in heavy felts to firm up. The paper is then removed from the felt and hung to dry. These papers have very low acidity levels as do the originals.

Modern style papers were wood pulp. Wood and bark are chiped, ground and pounded into pulp. Acid is added to disolve the fiber and then sizing is used to help stick the fibers together. This paper is ugly, brittle and will yellow badly. Just look at your newspaper.

Wood pulp paper became popular in the 1850's.
__________________________________________________ _______________

You may want to look at some medium weight art papers such as Arches, but it is sold by the sheet and very expensive.

I'll try to find suppliers with period American water marks and post them.

Some paper and the pencils can be found at http://www.dickblick.com/ ,yes that is Dick Blick...


*Western Hemisphere

[marlin teat]

Re: Period map questions

In my research I've come across several original, hand drawn maps (including a "spy" map showing the defenses of Rome, Ga.) in the archives at Duke University and at the University of Georgia that were tinted using color pencils. These maps were not in the familiar form of the atlas of the O.R. but were rather crude and hastily drawn with the colors used sparingly to highlight important features.

It's kind of strange but I was logging on to ask a related question when I came across this post. Does anyone know of an internet site for the Atlas of the O.R.? There are numerous sites for the O.R. itself but I haven't been able to find the atlas.

[James Brenner]

Re: Period map questions

I was at the Barnes and Noble bookstore in Washington, D.C. on Sunday. They had copies of the atlas in the bargain bin section for $19.98.

[James Brenner]

Re: Period map questions

Also, the book is available on-line at that same price. I suspect, too, that most B&N bookstores will have it.

[marlin teat]

Re: Period map questions

I was at the Barnes and Noble bookstore in Washington, D.C. on Sunday. They had copies of the atlas in the bargain bin section for $19.98.

They have the same thing in our local B&N and it's a really good deal. The plates have been renumbered since the last edition making it much easier to reference the index. My old copy has the index in arabic numerals and the plates in roman. My only problem is the sheer bulk of the book. It makes it, shall we say, rather hard to hide on my desk at work.

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Period map questions

Please do not disbound a book...

[BillO'Dea]

Re: Period map questions

Theres a book Maps and Map Makers of the Civil War --Earl B. McElfresh 1999 Abrams Inc Pub. where i found this quote:

"Stother spent six weeks in the late fall of 1861, saying to recover one of his watercolors, "a cake of very fine ultramarine, used in coloring...maps." He resignedly searched an old, picked-over campsite: "The first object that met my eyes was a little square package of mouldy paper lying among the straw and leaves. I dismouted and took it up. It was my lost ultramarine." Civil War mapmakers had a variety of watercolors available to them: ultramarine, vermilion, burnt siennas, ochers, lead-tin yellows, Chinese white, and more. The watercolors came in paper-wrapped two-by-one- inch rubbing cakes that were somewhat weather resistant. These cakes had to be ground into a powder using a pumice stone, and then a wash was created by adding water and stirring the mixture."

and this one,

"The typical Civil War mapmaker would ride with a drawing board resting on the pommel of his saddle. His first sketching would be done with a soft lead pencil. Author and natrualist Henry David Thoreau had discovered that a softer pencil could be made by decreasing the amount of Bavarian clay in the pencil lead (a baked mixture of graphite and clay). Soft pencils hold the paper best and will not be jogged off-line by any movements of the horse. Soft lead also erases easily and does not engrave itself on the paper. The pencil might well be tied with a piece of string to a buttonhole so it could not be dropped. For an eraser, the mapmaker used a piece of hard India rubber, also attached to him by a string. In a pinch, a piece of stale bread would suffice as an eraser. A wooden ruler, handy for making straight lines, for measuring, and for balancing on an extended finger to estimate a distant grade, would be safely stowed in a top boot when not in use. A field sketchbook would be used to record the information that the topographical engineer noted at the moment of passing. Engineers with the Union's western armies had the best-designed, most socialized topographical notebook. It had a black, untitled cover and was pocket-size (five by eight inches). It was ruled with a vertical linedown the center of each pate. On the inside of the front cover was a lengthy illustrated list of the various standardized symbols to be used by the engineer. This included appropriate renditions of different types of fences (stone, rail and post and rail), roads of varied surfaces, orchards, pine trees, decidious trees, buildings, cultrivated fields, hills, woods, cuts and fills. "

I became interested in this after reading Eye of the Storm and Images of the Storm, The Robt. Snedon story.
regards,
Bill O'Dea
Syracuse

[vbetts]

Water colors

Now that you've mentioned water colors...

SOUTHERN BANNER [ATHENS, GA], September 30, 1863, p. 3, c. 6

Water Colors Wanted.

A Lady solicits Water Colors, particularly Carmine and Prussian blue, from those who have them and are willing to give to the Confederacy.
They are much needed in one of the Engineer Departments, and as they cannot be had at the Topographical Bureau in Richmond or elsewhere, it is to be hoped those at home--particularly the ladies, who have kindly responded to every call--will aid in this.
All contributions left at the "Southern Banner Office," with the name of the donor, will be immediately forwarded to headquarters. Sept. 16.

Vicki Betts
vbetts@gower.net

[BillO'Dea]

and a horse

From what I've read to do this impression right one would need to be mounted. These fellows were very mobile to quickly get the lay of the land. And were frequently held up in their work by friendly pickets and loyal citizens. Which would be an interesting scenario.
Regards
Bill O'Dea
Syracuse

[Yellowhammer]

Re: Period map questions

Chris,

To follow up on Bill's comments, a Topographical Engineer is not an easy impression. Do you have a background in cartography, civil engineering or some other related field to give you some background?

The US Engineers were the tops of their classes at West Point so they weren't a bunch of slackers. The number of topics they were expert at is simply mind-boggling.

Last, doesn't map-making require some sort of surveying equipment? I'm not sure an accurate map of anything could be made simply by "eyeballing" it.

I'm not trying to squelch your enthusiasm rather inject some things you might not have considered into the discussion.

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Water colors

Now that you've mentioned water colors...

SOUTHERN BANNER [ATHENS, GA], September 30, 1863, p. 3, c. 6

Water Colors Wanted.

A Lady solicits Water Colors, particularly Carmine and Prussian blue, from those who have them and are willing to give to the Confederacy.
They are much needed in one of the Engineer Departments, and as they cannot be had at the Topographical Bureau in Richmond or elsewhere, it is to be hoped those at home--particularly the ladies, who have kindly responded to every call--will aid in this.
All contributions left at the "Southern Banner Office," with the name of the donor, will be immediately forwarded to headquarters. Sept. 16.

Vicki Betts
vbetts@gower.net

VERY COOL...Winslow Homer was a master watercolorist, giving us what I believe to the only true and accurate color images of the period.

[aplett]

Re: Period map questions

Although I'm not a enginneer reenactor, I am a surveying student in real life. There is a authentic Confederate Engineer regt. in California that does make period topographic maps and has a manual for doing so. Their website is:http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/2663/

Andrew Plett
Oregon Fife & Drum Corps

[RedCordCO]

Re: Period map questions

You might wish to contact these fellows as well. They are out of Colorado and are rather good in their portrayal. They cover Mex War through Civil War.

http://www.topogs.org/

Rob Burchardt

[nofarb38]

Re: Period map questions

I greatly appreciate all the input from everyone. It truly amazes me, the wealth of information on this site. Thank you Gentlemen. you guys were a great help.