Australia Land of Living Fossils
- Title:
- Australia Land of Living Fossils
- Alternate Title:
- Australia Land of Living Fossils
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- Anderson, Roy
- Other Creators:
- National Geographic Society
- Date:
- 1979
- Posted Date:
- 2017-04-14
- ID Number:
- 2048.01
- Collection Number:
- 8548
- File Name:
- PJM_2048_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1960 - Present
- Subject:
- Disaster/Health/Environment
Pictorial - Measurement:
- 75 x 57 (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- This National Geographic publication has been extensively analyzed by Wood & Fels (2008, ch. 3). It features a bold, colorful poster of Australian wildlife on one side, along with a stripped-down map that "comes off as little more than an excuse for the animal portraiture." Ibid. 37. On the verso is a classic, detailed, "cooly dispassionate" geographic map. Ibid. 42. As Wood points out, this is similar to many state highway maps, which mix straightforward geography with heavily promotional "points of interest." See, e.g., ID #1274, "Motoring on Long Island;" ID #2131, "Indiana."
The text on the poster discusses the unique evolution of geographically remote species and makes passing mention of preservation issues. In the view of Wood and Fels, however, it is excessively focused on the curious, cute and superficial: the "topsy-turvy" nature of the Australian "menagerie," the "living museum of odd species." Ibid. 41. They see the map as an indictment of National Geographic: a "badge" of a subscriber's "progressiveness", "a middlebrow fetish" and "nothing but a set of instructions about how" the subscriber should "think about oneself: with satisfaction." Ibid. 46.
For a similar map of Africa, see ID #2172, "Pictorial Map of Africa."
For further information on the Collector’s Notes and a Feedback/Contact Link, see https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/about-collection-personal-statement and https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/feedback-and-contact - Cite As:
- P.J. Mode collection of persuasive cartography, #8548. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
- Repository:
- Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library
- Archival Collection:
- P.J. Mode collection of persuasive cartography
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.