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A spectacular 17th-century map of the US that is set to go up for auction |
Set sale! Maps up for auction
FROM Long John Silver and his band of buccaneers to Christopher Columbus, Captain Cook and their boatloads of disciples, the map has always been an object of awe.
More than 500 maps dating back to the 15th-century voyages of discovery that document man’s strides across terra incognita in the quest for riches and knowledge go on sale at Bloomsbury Auction House next month.
As well as the big-ticket items such as the raft of imperial-style charts of Africa, evocative of Dr Livingstone’s journeys into the “heart of darkness”, there are also more provincial offerings, from city maps of London, to maps of counties that no longer exist.
Evolving from the faint outlines of the New World to painting pink Africa’s interior, maps are more than just inert lines – they are ideologically loaded tools of hegemony.
Divide and rule has often been the most effective strategy of conquistadors since civilisation began, has it not?
Once the rifles have been put away, you can be sure it will be the cartographers entrusted with marking the territory to legitimise any foray to the public back home.
Owning a little bit of history might be cheaper than you would expect, with guide prices starting at just £100 for a rather intriguing 1950s insurance plan of London.
On the steeper side, valued at £8,000, is a 16th-century map of Spain from one of the fathers of cartography, Gerard Mercator.
Bidding gets underway at 1pm on Thursday, September 11. For more information visit www.bloomsburyauctions.com
Golden boy Bradley set to get a free ride?
BRITISH Olympic cycling champion Bradley Wiggins is probably still pinching himself after his medal haul in Beijing. But he’s going to have to wait a bit longer to wake from his reverie.
Because as soon as he had touched down on home soil, the calls for all kinds of decoration began. A knighthood might be some way off for the magician of the velodrome, but his kingdom could get a little bigger if opposition leaders in Westminster Council get their way. They are calling for the Maida Vale man to be bestowed with the freedom of the borough – an honour steeped in arcane quirk and eccentricity.
But should Wiggins gain the key, don’t expect to see him grazing sheep on Parliament Square or brandishing a sword in public.
These days the honour carries fewer perks, and judging by Wiggins’ admission that he has yet to step through his front door due to the never-ending raft of public engagements, with all its ceremonial obligations, the freedom of the borough might just be a poisoned chalice.
One thing he should bear in mind: Should Wiggins accept the honour he might want to look into re-invoking the most useful of the dispensations – immunity from prosecution if found drunk and disorderly. A useful card in anyone’s pocket, especially with the amount of champagne he can be expected to quaff in celebrating the feat.
Leader of the Labour group Paul Dimoldenberg said: “Bradley Wiggins’ magnificent sporting achievement at the Beijing and Athens Olympics should be recognised and celebrated here in Westminster, where he grew up and where his mother lives and works.
“Awarding him the freedom of Westminster would send a very strong signal out to young people in Westminster – that sporting achievement is both valued and worth striving for. Through his dedication and hard work, Bradley Wiggins is a role model for young people and the council should publicly honour his magnificent three-gold-medal Olympic achievement.”
Moving gesture from Boris
LONDON Mayor Boris Johnson, who has cleaned the Augean stables at County Hall, sweeping out Ken’s men and women, at considerable cost, came across an obstinate Camden Towner who was difficult to move, Diary learned some time ago.
Long active in the local Labour party, he was hoisted into County Hall by Ken several years ago, and worked merrily away on the top floor with the great man himself.
But could Boris budge him? No, because he had been employed by the Greater London Authority (GLA) and not directly by Ken himself.
The laws of employment protected him. For weeks he must have troubled Boris. So much so, that Boris moved him in pique from the eighth floor down to the second, into a kind of internal exile so cherished by totalitarian governments.
He was allowed to spend his time on a non-job on “statistics”.
This week Diary can report he has escaped his captor, and found a job as assistant to Murad Querishi, a GLA representative. Querishi has myriad responsibilities covering environment, sports and tourism, transport and the fire authority.
Diary rang Querishi on Wednesday to discuss his new assistant but found he was in China, where he had been invited to the Olympics as a London politician.
Presumably, he spent some time with Boris in Beijing – but no doubt they wouldn’t have discussed that awkward Camden Towner. |
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