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The Rocky Mountain Map Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study and appreciation of maps and other items of cartographic interest. The Society was formed in 1991 and is based in Denver, Colorado.  Upcoming meetings, past events and other information can be found at the tabs above. We hope to see you soon!

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Announcements:​​​

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  • Map Month, May 2024: Persuasive Maps
     

    • “Persuasion” and “Intent” in Persuasive Mapping: “Words Without Thoughts Never to Heaven Go.”  by PJ Mode
      Tuesday, May 7 2024 @ 5:30 PM MT
       

      • ​PJ Mode is a long-time map collector and retired lawyer who now focuses exclusively on collecting, researching, and writing about Persuasive Cartography. His collection includes more than 1300 maps, in some 27 languages, dating from 1491 to the present, and most of it is online at persuasivemaps.librarycornell.edu. The website includes detailed research notes on each of the maps, along with an article in The Portolan on the scope and history of persuasive mapping and links PJ has given on the subject.
         

    • The Graphic Legacy of Richard Edes Harrison by Susan Schulten
      Tuesday, May 14 2024 @ 5:30 PM MT
       

      • ​Susan Schulten is Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Denver, where she has taught since 1996. She is the author of four books which examine the role of mapping in American history. A resident of Denver and member of RMMS, Susan has become one of the country’s most respected and popular lecturers on historical maps. In this talk, she will explore some of the hundreds of stunning maps and graphics that upended the American public’s pre-WWII understanding of geography in a world governed by war and aviation. She will also examine the source of Harrison’s creativity and explore the ways that he simultaneously chronicled and advanced American power at midcentury. 
         

    • Popular Promotional Cartography of the Southwest: The Art of Persuasion by Dennis Reinhartz
      Tuesday, May 21 2024 @ 5:30 PM MT
       

      • ​This presentation looks at how popular cartography (postcard maps, state road maps, chamber of commerce maps, souvenir maps, and more) are used to promote (persuade/attract visitors) to the Southwest, its states, and its localities. After a university career of over forty years and having retired in 2008, Dennis Reinhartz is now an emeritus professor of history and Russian at the University of Texas in Arlington. Dennis is the author or editor of 14 books and numerous book chapters and scholarly articles related to his fields of interest. He is past president of the Society for the History of Discoveries, Arid Lands Studies Association, Western Social Science Association, Historical Society of New Mexico, and Texas Map Society.
         

    • Colonialism in the Cartouche: Imagery and Power in Early Modern Maps by Chet Van Duzer
      Tuesday, May 28 2024 @ 5:30 PM MT
       

      • ​The role of maps as tools of colonial control is well known. The decorative cartouches on maps are the places where the cartographer often signals to the viewer his or her interests or prejudices, but the colonialist messages conveyed by cartouches are underexplored. In this lecture, Chet examines colonialist imagery in several cartouches from the end of the seventeenth to the early nineteenth century, both to show the visual vocabulary of this colonialist discourse and to stimulate further study of cartouches of this type.

        Chet Van Duzer is a historian of cartography and a board member of the Lazarus Project at the University of Rochester, which brings multispectral imaging (a technology for recovering information from damaged manuscripts) to cultural institutions around the world. He has published extensively on medieval and Renaissance maps. His recent books include Henricus Martellus’ World Map at Yale (c. 1491): Multispectral Imaging, Sources and Influence, Martin Waldseemuller’s Carta Marina of 1516: Study and Transcription of the long Legends, and Frames that Speak: Cartouches on Early Modern Maps. His current project is on self-portraits by cartographers that appear on maps. 
         

    • Ticket and Zoom information to be announced soon.
       

  • Curtis Bird has YouTube interviews with various map makers (link)

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  • Follow the Rocky Mountain Map Society on Facebook.

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  • The Rocky Mountain Map Society has a YouTube Page now! Past talks are available to view whenever you like. Check it out!

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  • Our friend John Docktor has a wonderful list of all upcoming map events, not just in the USA, but across the pond as well. Please check it out!​

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