Wayfinding

The Road from London to Aberistwith. (Plate I.) London to Islip and Oxford
The Road from London to Aberistwith, in Britannia, Volume the First. Or an Illustration of the Kingdom of England and Dominion of Wales. John Ogilby. London: 1675
This road atlas from the 17th century is the first to show all the major roads in England and Wales. The use of curved strip maps was an imaginative solution to the challenge of representing the locales the roads passed through and the connections they made.
London to Highgate & Hampstead to Hendon, London to St Albans
London to Highgate & Hampstead to Hendon, London to St. Albans, in Cary's Survey of the High Roads from London… John Cary. London: 1790
Maps in color showing roads with houses, inns, rivers, hills, heaths and commons, and gentlemen’s country seats. North arrows are shown on each map.
(Covers to) Map of New York : Patented Jan 4, 1921, copyright 1923 by Rota-ray map systems, inc. Rochester. New York. Notice: Traveling East the adjoining section is on the bottom roller. Notice: Traveling West the adjoining section is on the top roller The roads are numbered where it leaves the section. It comes in on the adjoining section at the same number
Rota-ray Map Systems, Map of New York. Rota-ray Map Systems Inc. Rochester: 1923
This hand-held rotating color map in black metal box (with window) displays map sections. it covers routes in New York State and includes mileage chart for each section.
Photo-auto maps--Albany to New York. No. 242. (Stottville). No. 243. Hudson. No. 244 ... No. 245. (Hudson. Compiled by Gardner S. Chapin and Arthur H. Schumacher. Copyright, 1907, by G.S. Chapin, Chicago. Published by the Motor Car Supply Co. ... The Automobile Supply Co. Chicago, Ill.)
Photo-auto maps–Albany to New York. No. 745,744, 743, and 742, in Photo-Auto Maps. Photographs of Every Turn, Together with a Topographical Outline of Road Showing Railroad Crossings, Bridges, School Houses and All Landmarks with Accurate Distances Between. Gardner S. Chapin; Rand McNally and Company; Arthur H. Schumacher. Chicago: 1907
This unusual presentation of nine index maps shows the route from New York to Albany and Saratoga Springs and back. Photographs marked with arrows indicate each turn to make in the road. Eventually, route signs were posted for automobiles, but before then, this book filled a need.

Without a doubt, John Ogilby’s most famous work is his road atlas of England and Wales. The map shown has two features worth mentioning: a detailed map of London, at the beginning of the strip, and a side-strip showing Oxford, in the sixth twirl of the map. One hundred and fifteen years later, John Cary authored an atlas with strip maps, but the detail in the Ogilby’s version was difficult to surpass.

More than a century later, and we come to Gardner Chapin’s guide book – a precursor to the AAA TripTik, introduced in 1911 –  which  incorporates photographs and space for travellers to record notes about the nuances and details of their own journeys. Fifteen years later, we have the makings of a mechanical smartphone, a patented system with a rotating map, covering routes in New York, complete with water features and periodic north arrows for orientation. With the advent of GPS, cell phones (and their towers), Wi-Fi, and GIS, locations now have pinpoint accuracy, placing you in the map, as opposed to looking at one.