Through a lens of information design, art, and social history, Mapping Knowledge Across Time examines seven extraordinary books that transformed how humanity visualized and understood the world. Spanning continents and centuries, these books reveal striking patterns in how diverse cultures employed similar visual systems to embed complex knowledge within the book form. As our digital age increasingly distances us from these tangible artifacts, this book sheds important light on the enduring heritage of information design in the book arts and its relevance today.
The remarkable works placed under the microscope include: an Arabic cosmography from medieval Sicily; an exquisite Catalan mappamundi from Jewish Majorcan workshops; Germany's most elaborately illustrated early printed book; Ming dynasty scientific illustrations; an Amsterdam-produced atlas merging geography with history from Huguenot refugees; Humboldt-inspired German scientific visualizations; and culminates with a modernist Bauhaus-influenced American atlas integrating physical and social sciences. Each chapter meticulously analyzes how these works employed visual strategies to construct comprehensive worldviews, demonstrating the remarkable continuity and evolution of information design across cultures.
Mapping Knowledge Across Time: Seven Books which Visualized the World will be of great interest to readers of book history, information design, and visual culture, especially those seeking connections between historical visualization practices and contemporary information challenges. Art historians will value its analysis of cross-cultural visual systems, while historians of science will appreciate its examination of knowledge transmission through visual means. Students across disciplines will discover how these seven landmark works fundamentally shaped humanity's understanding of itself and its place in the cosmos.