Saving, filing and collecting old maps. Routes in the conformation of map libraries: two cases in Chile and Argentina

MALENA MAZZITELLI MASTRICCHIO; ALEJANDRA VEGA; TERESA ZWEIFEL

Investigaciones Geográfica

UNaM

Lugar: DF; Año: 2023

This study discusses the Ancient Map category that is recurrent in the literature on the history of cartography. To this end, we analyzed two cases — one in Chile and the other in Argentina — which, despite their unique character -istics and differences between them, share common features. These allow for concluding that the designation of maps as old does not strictly refer to the passage of time but results from a set of factors, including ideological, institutional, contextual, and material aspects. In this sense, this article contributes to the field of studies addressing the history of artography, the history of collections and archives, and their intellectual foundations in a period spanning from the late 19th century to mid 20th century.The first map library analyzed corresponds to the collection gathered by the bibliophile, editor, and historian José Toribio Medina (1852–1930), which today is part of the Medina Room at the National Library of Chile. This collection was created in the last decade of the 19th century and is currently one of the main cartographic collections of Chile, along with the Map Library of the National Archive and the Map Library of the National Library. The second map library belongs to the Department of Historical and Cartographic Research of the Province f Buenos Aires (Geodesy Archive). In this case, the cartographic collection corresponds to an archive and is the result of the submission of materials derived from the work of the surveying technicians, who were requested to deliver a copy to the institution. José Maria Prado (1896–2002), a government officer credited with reevaluating these materials for new uses of technically obsolete maps, was involved in the review of this archive. We analyzed the texts related to the conformation of both map libraries: notes, descriptions, catalogs, and other documents of the time. The analysis of these materials revealed that the formative processes of both map libraries share at least two common aspects: the unintentional, unplanned practice that gave rise to them; and the close relationship between the valuation of the cartographic collection and the aim to recount a history of cartography and the territory; the combination of both characteristics defines the antiquity of the map. When identified as ancient, the cartographic material was available to undergo various historiographical processes. These maps would be used to build genealogies of the national or provincial present by becoming a material imprint of past truths or ancient testimonies of lasting truths; or, by evidencing their obsolescence, introducing a critical distance from past events. As a result, a patina was recognized that granted these maps renewed validity and legitimacy, regardless of their effective material characteristics. This conception even justified that besides the maps that had already been given the ancient status, others could be added, which, being con temporary, were bound to become obsolete through time.