Say It With Maps

Shopping for cartophiles this holiday season? We suggest a visit to any one of Seattle’s swell map stores.

Of course, maps primarily serve a practical, navigational purpose, but one needn’t be map-literate to dig them as works of art. This is no more apparent than at Metsker Maps, ground zero of Seattle mapperies. Metsker sells all kinds (physical or political, terrestrial or nautical, contemporary or historical), in all shapes (flat, bas-relief, spherical), and in all sizes (from pocket-sized street maps to monster world atlases). They also come in all price ranges, from cheapie road maps to the awesome, top-dollar Geochron. We recommend the affordable, suitable-for-framing Raven Maps -- last year we were delighted to receive this beauty.

Much of Metsker’s Seattle-related inventory comes from nearby Kroll Maps. Since 1911, Kroll has specialized in making all manner of custom local maps for both public and private use -- hospital zones, pizza delivery areas, what have you. Kroll’s showroom on Third and Cedar also has bins of other assorted maps -- historical reproductions, USGS maps, satellite photos, etc. -- that are always fun to browse.

No home should be without a globe, and while Metsker has a commendable selection, we also like Wallingford’s Wide World Books & Maps. They have scads of floor and desk models; we love the ones that light up. WWB&M also carries one we haven’t seen elsewhere: a dry-erase globe by Scan-Globe A/S Denmark (sorry, no link). A few years back we purchased our own globe -- the black-ocean “Starlight” model, as seen on the Replogle home page -- at another good location, the University Bookstore.

Elsewhere, REI has a huge selection of topographic maps of the great outdoors, and just about any decent-size bookstore sells the ultimate in urban atlases, the Thomas Guide. AAA has a tons of colorful roadmaps, suitable for both glove boxes and living-room walls. Their minimum annual membership of $54 is worth it for their “free” maps alone, and we hear AAA also offers emergency roadside assistance, or something.

Despite these great businesses, we actually scored our best map-related gift last year at the Ballard Fred Meyer. The Esphera jigsaw puzzle globe proved an entertaining, interactive conversation piece that several folks had a hand in constructing over the course of several days. It sure beat the crap out of Candyland.