MARVELLOUS MAPS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7701, 9 May 1903, Page 3

MARVELLOUS MAPS.

. A few weeks ago it was announced that fet another addition had .been made to ; this number of jewelled map's in existence. This, the latest effort jn extravagant cartography, was presented to Colonel Mar- = chand, of Fashoda fame, by a 'number of his admirers^ and comprised ,a map bf Africa in blue enamel, with the two routes followed by the gallant traveller traced in brilliants, with aft especially large diamond indicating the latitude and longitude of the town which brought fame to 'the intrepid Frenchman, intrepid inasmuch as he had r idae ': hardihood to attempt to argue with tiLord Kitchener. The map, which, bufc for political rea- ■•' ions, woiild have been presented some little 'lime ago, was probably suggested by the jewelled map of France that the Czar pre- ' jented to the French nation in 1900, which >fter its exhibition afc the Exposition of that year was added to the treasures of tbe 1 iiouvre. . Aboufc one. yard square. in size, ; this record map took three years to make . 'md cost, so it; is said, £160,000. '-•■-- It is difficult to conceive of so large a jum being expended upon a single map, 'tut when it is pointed out that this work " if art is A VERITABLE MOSAIC OF GEM? the problem presents no further mysteries. As a matter of fact, each department in the touintry was represented by a special stone, such as malachite, onyx, agate and jade, out to exactly coincide with its configura-

Hon, while the rivers were marked in pla-tjtinm-qnd the sea in lapis lazuli ; each, of ■ the large cities, to the number of 106, V 05 ' as in the case of Fashoda in the previous example of jewelled cartography, represented by a gem. Thus, a ruby occupied the site of Paris, an opal stood frr Bordeaux, a ' iturquoise for Lille, an emerald for Marseilles and a diamond for Lyons. That tnese.. gems are of , considerable size and of V the finest water can be gathered from the face thafc the stone representing the southern.seaport has alone been valued at £1800. i /-This map, it should fy> mentioned, was, ■ js-.-at. the time oi the Exhibition, mounted on

., marble embellished with ermine, and was , surmounted by > ehe Russian and French "" flags, Which were to be replaced by a frame of solid silver.. ' ' The jewelled map, by the way, is no .. twentieth-century idea, for long before the dawn of the present century the Shahs of 1 Persia,, reckoned a jewelled map amongst ibeir most valued possessions. T,he map in question, to be perfectly accurate, is A GKEAT CLOBE OF GOLD, -representing the world, and upon it thecoL pured effects of the familiar sphere of the - schoolroom are obtained by studying the . area of each country with precious stones, Persia, for instance, being outlined and covered jvith diamonds; whilst rubies cover tne surface of .the United Kingdom. A marvellous map, indeed, is that of England and Wales, .made by a Wood Green gentleman four cr five years ago; it was made by 2139 stamps, valued at .200. guineas, of which no two stamps ara the same. In this instance the contrast in 'colours of ' the countries was .obtained by .-. covering the area of each of the most pro- . ndnent with different coloured stamps. Another map, or; rather plan, of note was one of Moscow, exhibited a few years ago, -.which, although the material it was composed of w'4s only Bristol Board, was valued, probably on account, of the six years' work put into it, at £5000. The plan it should be mentioned, showed the town modelled in relief, the hills, valleys, railway lines, bridges, and public buildings, together with the River Moskva, represented by ... a sky-blue line, all being indicated. ' ' A few months ago a French bride received from a geographically-inclined friend a .fHver sugar-bowl, having the' contour of a terrestrial globe. The bowl, whose cover was formed by the Northern Hemisphere, tore on its exterior ' AN ACCTOATEI.Y EJTQBAVED MAP OT THE WOBXD, ud on this map the route that the newlyjnanied couple were about to take in the course of a very elaborate honeymoon tour vraa marked by a lihie of lapis lazuli, wljile [the names oi the towns at which the happy couple would make a, more or less prolonged jrtay were lettered in enamel. This gift had, in its way, a distinct jamming ; but, on the other hand, it is diffi- . cult to understand why the friends of the .Spanish Premier, Canovas, who was asaas■wated in 1897, should elect to send to his widow a beautiful and elaborate map of the Philippine Islands. . I The map in question, which bas been t^lued at £6,000, was, however, a "very are-- : - i«iarkable gift, as can be gathered from its „ description, which records that it was in re.f' )ief and in solid-gold, 'L v y 's with bach crrr masked bt a rott. Tbe inscription it bore, it should be further '. mentioned, was outlined in sapphires, and the dedication appeared in brilliants, while y. (he frame of gold and precious stones was . surmounted by a bust of Canovas in the Muine precious metal. ■y., This combined effort on the jlart of tbe '-' wrtograpber and the jeweller, which reads .'-• l» though it dealt, with tbe possession of ■ome fabulously wealthy individual existing 'tidy in the Arabian Nights' fentertainmemts, was, it is recorded, enclosed in a V aaae oi the finest. wood, which in itself was X '"■% .work of art.

-■- fiom* people borrow ttouble for the pur-,'--'ama at giviag it to ©then.