Map of Misool

Map of Misool

Lithograph map of the island Misool, based on Dutch marine charts and data collected by Odo D. Tauern between August and October 1911 and published in the academic journal Petermanns geographische Mitteilungen

Tauern, Odo Deodatus I.
Langhans, Paul

German

Original title:
"Die Molukkeninsel Misol. Aufgenommen von O. D. Tauern August bis Oktober 1911. Gezeichnet unter Benutzung der niederländischen Seekarten."

1915

The map was published in the academic journal Petermanns geographische Mitteilungen, Jahrgang 1915, Tafel 41. It was offered for sale by a German antiquarian bookshop in Regensburg and has been purchased in the scope of this research project to conduct further research

37,8 x 46,6 cm

Printing color on paper

Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, LMU Munich

A comment on the map points out that the dotted lines mark those cartographic information which have been copied from available Dutch maritime maps. The solid lines, thus, illustrate the precise contribution of Odo D. Tauern to the cartography of Misool, which is focused on the southern coastline and nearby islands.

Paul Langhans (1867-1925), who supervised the creation of the map - as mentioned on the bottom left of the document - was editor in chief of Petermanns geographische Mitteilungen between 1909 and 1937 and a leading cartographer in the publishing house. Firmly rooted in the cartographic tradition of the 19th century, his maps contained a high density of information that compressed multiple layers of space and time into a singular visual framework. As a convinced anti-Semite, his cartography was permeated by nationalist ideology. Considering the relevance of Petermanns geographische Mitteilungen for the national and international scientific community, Langhans operated the journal as an ideological pioneer of National Socialism. Already during the German Empire, he published anti-Semitic magazines and was an active member in the German Social Reform Party (DSRP) as well as other associations that promoted nationalist ideas. Later, he joined the NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers' Party) where he was recognized for his speeches and soon took on local political offices.

Sources:

• Brogiato, Heinz Peter. 2004. "PGM in der Epoche der Weltkriege (1909-1945)." Petermanns geographische Mitteilungen 148(6): 20-29
• Meyer, Philipp Julius. 2021. Kartographie und Weltanschauung: Visuelle Wissensproduktion im Verlag Justus Perthes 1890-1945. Göttingen: Wallstein Verlag