Favorite Products
In the Beginning…
Maps of the Past Inc. is a family owned and operated business that began operations in December of 2002. However, "Dad" has been collecting and studying historical maps since 1958. Interest in his vast collection has been so great over the years we decided to make high-quality reproductions of his collection and other historical maps available to the public. We pooled our expertise including David (Dad) a Master Genealogist/Author of 13 Historical Map Books/Avid Treasure Hunter/Historian, Jarrod (Oldest Son) a Computer Whiz, and a Customer Service Specialist, Michelle (Mom) a Sales & Marketing Professional and the wonderful Catherine (Grandma) a college administrator for 28 years, who got stuck being the financial backer and taking care of the shipping department, to form Maps of the Past. When we first started our new "Historical Map Reproduction" venture, we innocently thought the entire operation would be a fairly simple one. However, our true initiation came when we made the realization that there were no printing companies capable of creating high-quality reproduction prints of these fabulous historical treasures that would pass our scrutiny. We immediately added a Printing & Graphic Arts Specialist to round out our team of "experts". We then invested heavily in the finest graphic arts software, and wide-format printer available. We were officially in the Historical Map Reproduction business!
Today
We’ve come a very long way since then, including hundreds of hours of research to learn the latest cutting edge equipment and techniques, lots of trial and error, and thousands of customers later we have become one of the leading sellers of historical maps in the world.
Our business is now large enough to offer over 1100 restored, high quality State, County, City, Railroad, Mining, Township, International, Civil War, Topographic, and Panoramic maps dating back to the sixteenth century, fill orders of 5000 maps or more, provide breathtaking, state-of-the-art “giclee” prints, have a toll-free phone number, office hours Monday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM EST, and have this spectacular website,
www.historicmapsrestored.com. Although, we are small enough to have Jarrod still provide incredible, caring service, where each customer is treated as an individual and almost always remembered by name and every order is still packed by hand with care…under Catherine’s supervision.
Why Historical Maps….Not Widgets?
Sure, we need to eat, pay the mortgage, put gas in our cars…..but we are not really in this business for the money. We are in it for the love, the passion we have for these maps! Catherine looks at every map and says “WOW! isn’t that a beautiful map” it could look like the bottom of an old shoe…and she would still say “WOW! isn’t that a beautiful map!.” She loves all of them. I (Michelle) look at every map with a magnifying glass to make sure the roads, streets, creeks and words are all crystal clear, then from a distance to make sure they are
aesthetically pleasing and will look gorgeous when framed, hanging on a home or office wall. David makes sure all the historical data is accurate and Jarrod never has time to look up from the computer.
We love the history, the geography…..but most of all we love the fact that we are doing our small part to increase the world’s knowledge of history, cartography, maps, and genealogy.
Our entire business is extremely labor intensive, including countless hours of research time to locate maps, a painstaking restoration process, hundreds of emails each week to make inquiries about maps, a meticulous printing production, and a packing operation that is handled with TLC. Of course we could probably be making a million dollars with the same amount of effort and manpower selling widgets made in China and having them drop-shipped from the distributor to the customer (and there is nothing wrong with that), but we wouldn’t love to come to work every day with the same devotion to our company and our customers.
The Map Library
In the beginning we started with a map library of nearly 300 maps, all of which were originals with a good portion of them Topo, City, Township, and County maps within the state of California. It didn’t take very long for us to realize we were going to need a wider variety of maps! So we began our research to locate maps and locate maps we did! The restored map library now consists of roughly 1650 historical maps dating back to the sixteenth century. Our archives hold another 6000-7000 maps awaiting restoration. We are very proud to say that our maps come from very impressive sources such as, but not limited to the US Library of Congress, The David Rumsey Collection, US Geological Survey, as well as dozens of additional commercial and academic sources. A special thank you to Mr. David Rumsey for his generosity in allowing us to use several of his map images in our library.
Restoration
Nearly all original maps are laden with imperfections such as tears, fold lines, stains, holes, pencil markings, and rubber stamp markings usually detracting from the overall appearance of the map. We have invested heavily in the finest equipment, computer software, and graphic artists available to correct each blemished area. Our combined efforts have resulted in intriguing historical reproductions that are literally breathtaking to view while keeping the historical data intact. We constantly search to refine our techniques, and our magnificent maps show the effort.
Our Printers
We now use 44” wide format printers. The HP DesignJet 4000 printers are capable of printing at a resolution 2880 x 1440 dpi, although we choose to print our maps at 720 x 1440 dpi which creates a beautiful crystal clear image. We use the DesignJet to print all the photo quality maps. Our other printer is an Epson Stylus Pro 9600, also capable of printing at a resolution of 2880 x 1440 dpi. We use it to print all of our fine art and canvas giclee pieces on. (...more
on giclee prints or reproductions)
The Ink
An improved version of Epson's Archival ColorFast ink has been developed for the latest generation of inkjet professional printers. Epson UltraChrome ink is one of the most important advances made in printing. UltraChrome ink is a pigment based ink instead of the typical dye based ink which achieves superb color on a variety of media because of the increase in the density of pigment content in the ink. This ensures superbly sharp image reproduction along with light and water resistance for up to 100 years . The UltraChrome ink is also used in a 7 color system instead of the old 4 color systems allowing for incredible, brilliant color.
Our Media
We use three grades of media (paper) on which to print your maps, which we
make available as these four product options:
“Photo Quality” – This is a very high quality photo grade 7 mil thick paper. It is considered a “matte” finish, however is does have a slight sheen to it. It is a very nice paper and produces extremely attractive maps.
“Photo Quality Laminated” – All maps up to 24” wide may be laminated. The lamination is a hot process using 5 mil laminating material to produce a heavy10 mil thick very durable plastic covering for your map.
“Epson UltraSmooth Fine Art Paper” – This beautiful acid free, lignin, and chlorine free, 100% cotton rag fine art archival media has the look and feel of old world handmade paper, yet it produces sharp and accurate reproductions. The Giclee process, combined with this paper creates magnificent historical maps guaranteed not to fade, yellow or crack for over 100 years. The quality of these maps is recognized by museums and galleries around the world.
“Epson Premier Art Canvas” - Ideal for framing, the Epson 40% cotton & 60% Poly archival grade canvas will satisfy even the most discriminating taste. This Canvas has a medium gloss finish and after printing via the Giclee process, your historical maps are guaranteed not to fade, yellow or crack for over 100 years! The result is truly magnificent.
A Sampling of Our Customers
Johns Hopkins University - Baltimore, Maryland
Louisiana State University – Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Connor Prairie Living Museum – Fishers, Indiana
Arcadia Publishing – Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina
Virginia Historical Society – Richmond, Virginia
Historic Arkansas Museum – Little Rock, Arkansas
Indiana Historical Society – Indianapolis, Indiana
Historic Hudson Valley – Sleepy Hollow, New York
Henry Morrison Flagler Museum – Palm Beach, Florida
Kentucky Historical Society – Frankfort, Kentucky
Los Angeles Public Library – Los Angeles, California
Northern Lights Art – Lebanon, New Hampshire
Golden Gate National Park – San Francisco, California
Compass Rose Trading Company – Kensington, Maryland
Art Services International – Houston, Texas
West Kentucky Education Coop. – Murray, Kentucky
Autry National Center – Los Angeles, California
Fort Pulaski National Monument – Savannah Beach, Georgia
Christiansted National Historic Site – St. Croix, Virgin Island
The Museum of the Confederacy – Richmond, Virginia
Dave Millington Ancient Coins – London, England
Parrish Fine Framing & Art – Ann Arbor, Michigan
Michigan Historical Society – Lansing, Michigan
California State Railroad Museum – Sacrament, California
Nasir Framing Company – Alexandria, Virginia
Click here to find out
What Some of Our
Customers Are Saying About Us!
Join The HMR Map Club!
