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What would surprise people to know about maps and cartography?

"We assume that maps are 'true'. We trust that they are telling us just where we should go when, in reality, maps are as biased or as subjective as any other document that you might be using. So, I really encourage researchers to use maps.

"Don't be afraid. They are complex, but they're complex in an interesting way. Dive in, use them as more than illustrations. But at the same time, do understand that there is just as much nuance there as there is in a written document and we have to think about the purpose, the origin, the values and limitations of these documents, just like we would any other historical source."

Do you have a favourite map or series of maps within the Society’s collection?

"I'm a naval historian by training, so I'm very partial to the Northwest Passage expeditions. I think they're interesting for understanding what makes an explorer.

"The idea of an explorer is a 19th-century cultural creation, and we have cast that back onto people like Christopher Columbus or James Cook. But in the 19th century, you get this heady mix of media, newspapers and celebrity culture, and the Royal Navy as a real cultural mover in Britain. All these things come together in a perfect storm to create The Explorer, capital 'T', capital 'E'.

"You can see that most clearly in the treatment of polar explorers. So, the guys who go out and search for the Northwest Passage and then search for John Franklin when his expedition doesn't come back, which leads to finding Northwest Passage almost by accident, really.

"We often think that they just packed everything up and went and then came back with everything. But there's a lot that was lost and gained, including local expertise, resources, and human labour that is often not seen."

What can we learn from maps?

"Maps combine the visual and the textual in a way that we don't necessarily get with a codex, i.e. a book, or even with something that's purely visual. I think the combination of those two registers makes them interesting little capsules of intellectual trends and assumptions that were going on at different times.

"And you can see, by looking at the stylistic preferences of what is included, or excluded, how things like absence or blank spaces are dealt with. Is there imagery in terms of sea monsters or not? How are Indigenous peoples mentioned or not mentioned?

"All of these things are interesting roads into a much bigger intellectual milieu, and I think you can get that condensed well in maps whereas it is something you'd need a bit of a larger sample of for a different kind of medium."

What is another favourite medium of yours, if you had to choose?

"An exploration journal is good. Again, I'm a naval historian, so I like logs or diaries that were kept because those are often very routine. The routine part might be boring, but it's indicative of what they found important to observe or what they thought was quotidian or every day. But, often, there will be these little disruptions in there too.

"And then sometimes you come across something like the diaries of Sir Clements Markham, a naval officer who later became one of the Society’s most powerful presidents. His diaries tell you what the wind speed and direction was and what the sea bottom looked like.

"They also have tons of drawings, and sometimes even paintings and little sketches, doodles, and maps. And so they're full of all this interesting stuff that you can follow up with the other journals and it's a nice point to depart and see what else you can learn."