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About The Portolan The Journal of the Washington Map Society What is The Portolan?The Portolan is the journal of the Washington Map Society; it furthers the purpose of the Society “to support and promote map collecting, cartography and the study of cartographic history.” The Portolan, the largest and most-widely distributed publication of its kind in the Americas, is issued three times per year, in the Spring/Summer, the Fall and Winter. Typically over 70 pages, it has been produced regularly since its inception and is provided to individual members and institutional subscribers in over twenty countries. Print and digital editions are available to individual members. Individual members have online access and can view and download all current and past issues of The Portolan. Print editions are available to institutional subscribers. As of Fall 2025, 123 issues have been published. A Brief History Five years after the founding of the Washington Map Society, the membership decided in 1984 to establish a newsletter to keep members informed of Society activities. These included notices of coming meetings, brief summaries of past meetings, news of cartographic happenings in the region, and a compilation of information on recent publications (books and articles) on the history of cartography. From an eight-page stapled newsletter, the newsletter grew over the years to an internationally circulated and recognized journal. Read more about the history of The Portolan in the articles on the right side of this page (or if you are on mobile, scroll to the bottom of this page). The Contents The Portolan is most known for its many articles by internationally known scholars and independent researchers who share their finding on a wide range of topics. These are not solely focused on the Washington DC region, but encompass research on maps and mapmakers from all periods and on areas all over the world. Exploring the World of Maps, as noted in the Society’s tagline, is what the journal seeks to do. Every year the journal contains the winning article of the Society’s Dr. Walter W. Ristow Prize for an Academic Paper in the History of Cartography. In addition to numerous articles, each issue of the journal contains:
Click here to access a full listing of the contents of current and past issues, plus an index to those issues. FREE Complimentary Issues of The Portolan Available for viewing here is Portolan issue 107 (Spring 2020). Its cover story (starting on page 7) received the Walter W. Ristow Prize for Academic Achievement in the History of Cartography. The author tells the story of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who the author calls the “Geographical President”, how Roosevelt judiciously used maps during the pursuit of World War II. Roosevelt used maps in decision making, in his dealings with Allies, and with his communication to the public. Another article (see page 24) presents a compelling story of how the Boston Public Library was able to recover 15 cartographic treasures that had been stolen by the infamous map thief E. Forbes Smiley. Starting on page 36 are four varied book reviews. A continuing highlight, Recent Publications, listing recent articles and books addressing maps, begins on page 54. And there is more, including remembrances of three recently deceased map experts. Several sample Portolan articles:
The Production Team
Editorial Advisory Board
Institutions Holding The Portolan Click here to find the nearly fifty institutions worldwide that subscribe to The Portolan. Submitting Articles for Publication Click here for information on submitting articles for possible inclusion in The Portolan. Book Review Program The journal contains several book reviews in each issue. A list of the many books already reviewed can be found at the index noted above (scroll to Book/CD Reviews). Books are provided by publishers worldwide and the reviewers include members and non-members in the map community with expertise in the subject matter. On occasion a member will have read a book and offers to review it for the journal. Click here for further information on the Book Review Program. Advertising in The Portolan To maximize the scholarly contents in each issue, only a limited amount of advertising is included in The Portolan. Advertisers are all Washington Map Society members. Click here for full details about advertising in The Portolan.
Portolan Publication/Delivery Schedule – Claims for undelivered issues: The Portolan is published three times per year.
Claims may be made for undelivered issues – if claim is made within four months of the anticipated delivery months noted above. Ordering of current/back issues of The Portolan in print Complete back sets, partial sets and individual issues of The Portolan are available for sale. |
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