Question about that old 1850s map of Prague I found at the estate sale

I compared the 1850 map I bought to a 1900 one from the same area and the 1850 version had way more accurate street names and building details while the 1900 one had some crazy made up borders and a river that doesn't exist in real life, has anyone else noticed newer old maps just aren't as reliable?

2 comments

2 Comments

clairebaker4d ago

Oh yeah, "that river that doesn't exist in real life" is always a nice touch on a map. Real confidence builder when you're trying to navigate. Sounds like the 1900 map was drawn by some guy who had a vague memory of visiting Prague once for two hours and then just guessed the rest. Honestly, it's a known issue with "newer old maps" from that era. A lot of them were made by companies rushing to compete with the older, more careful surveys, and they didn't care if they made up a few landmarks. Plus some of those 1850 maps were actual military survey documents with real surveying teams on the ground, not just some guy in a print shop tracing from a bad copy. Your 1850 find is probably the real deal. The 1900 one is basically a cartographer's fever dream.

cameronwest3d ago

Oh man, I totally feel your pain. I had the same thing happen with an old map of my hometown from the 1920s, showed a whole railroad line that never existed. I found out later it was a speculative map for a development that never got built.