We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2024 Prize for Projects in Map History.

First Prize:

Richard Pegg for “MacLean Collection Map Chats.”

Since 2021, the MacLean Collection Map Library (MCML) has created a new digital platform related to the study of historical maps in the MacLean Collection called Map Chats. Map Chats are published 3-4 times a year and are written by a broad range of map specialists that have participated in the MacLean Collection Map Fellowship program or done research at the MCML. The prize committee was especially impressed to see essays by scholars from around the world discussing maps from different countries with worldwide coverage. This breadth allows Map Chats to create links in the map history community and foster scholarship on maps around the world in a variety of disciplines.

Honorary Mention:

S. Max Edelson for “John Ogilby’s America (1671): Visualizing a New World.”

This interactive digital atlas—an ArcGIS StoryMaps Collection—offers a guided tour of the lavish visual content of John Ogilby’s America: Being the Latest, and Most Accurate Description of the New World. It makes this dense 750-page work accessible to broader audiences by reproducing its images in high-resolution displays, excerpting text related to those images, and explaining their historical contexts. The prize committee loved the combination of accessible expert commentary with good graphics and an easy user experience. This resource will be extremely useful for anyone teaching Early Modern cartography and will, therefore, offer the opportunity to bring more and more young scholars into the field.

Prize Description:

The ISHMap Prize in Map History, awarded every two years and presented at the ISHMap General Assembly, recognizes a project that explores the history of maps and mapping outside of the format of an academic paper, book, or edited collection in a way that increases accessibility and engagement with maps and map history through innovative presentations. The prize uplifts projects that seek to expand the subjects, audience, scope, and/or methodology of engaging with the history of maps and mapping. Projects can take many forms including, but in no way limited to, physical exhibitions, datasets, online exhibitions, multimedia projects such as podcasts and films, thematic maps, games, and digital products.

Prize winner will receive:

  • £200 (split between multiple winners if the project has multiple authors).
  • 2-year Membership for up to 3 people in ISHMap.
  • Presentation of the award at the ISHMap General Meeting.
  • A feature on the ISHMap webpage and on H-Maps.