Cartophilia: maps and the search for identity in the French-German borderland - 50468

The period between the French Revolution and World War II was a time of tremendous growth in both mapmaking and map reading throughout Europe.

There is no better place to witness this rise than in Alsace-Lorraine, a disputed borderland that the French and Germans both claimed as their national territory.

Desired for its prime geographical position and abundant natural resources, Alsace-Lorraine endured wars from 1870 to 1945 that altered its borders four times, transforming its physical landscape and the political allegiances of its citizens.

Turning to a previously undiscovered archive of popular maps, 'Cartophilia' reveals Alsace-Lorraine's lively world of citizen mapmakers that included linguists, ethnographers, teachers, hikers, and priests.

Together, this group of mapmakers invented new genres of maps that framed French and German territory in original ways.