About Us
A very warm welcome to the Barron Maps website.
And from me personally, Rod Barron, one of the UK’s leading private antiquarian map dealers.
I am based in the scenic town of Sevenoaks in Kent, some 20 miles to the South East of London. Sevenoaks is probably best known for Knole House & its surrounding Park, the former residence of the Sackville Earls of Dorset & childhood home of Vita Sackville-West, who was married in its chapel in 1913.
Historian – Researcher – Blogger
Born and raised in Yorkshire, I studied Modern History at Oxford University in the early 1980’s. My background as an historian and researcher has led to the development of the Barron Maps Blog, in which you will find a wealth of new information about maps and mapmakers, almost all based on my own ongoing in-depth researches
30 Years of Experience, Knowledge and Expertise
I first set up as an independent dealer in April 1989 but have been involved in the antiquarian map & book trade for some 30 years, starting out initially as Assistant and later Gallery Manager to Jonathan Potter.
With over three decades in the map business I have accumulated a wealth of specialist knowledge, expertise & experience in this unique & fascinating field.
An acknowledged expert on early European Maps of China & the Far East
During the 1990’s I was widely recognized as one of the leading experts & specialists in early European maps of South East Asia, China & the Far East and was a regular visitor to the Far East, holding several private exhibitions in both Hong Kong and Tokyo. I was instrumental in advising and assisting Librarian, Min-min Chang in the formation of the superb Collection of Antique maps of Asia and the Far East at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology during this period. I made a significant contribution to the resulting book of this collection, China in European Maps
An established specialist in Cartographic curiosities
Visitors will find here a selection of works that focus specifically on imaginary, comic, satirical, propagandist & pictorial cartography over a period of five hundred years from the mid 16th to mid 20th Centuries.
Such maps offer glimpses into the often obscure bye ways of our literary heritage as well as charting the ever-changing landscape of our social, cultural & military history; of our religious beliefs & morals; and of national politics and international geopolitics over the course of several centuries.
This is a field in which I have a deep-seated personal passion, a detailed specialist knowledge & a very long-standing interest dating back many many years.
I have presented several lectures on the subject and written numerous articles. Most notable was my lecture on 19th & 20th Century satirical maps presented at the 6th International BIMCC Conference in Bruxelles in 2007, subsequently published in Belgeo 3-4 [2008], the Magazine of the Belgian Geographical Society.
I take enormous pride and satisfaction in the ground-breaking centennial Exhibition of Satirical & Propaganda Maps of the First World War which took place at London’s Menier Gallery in November 2014:
Lilian Lancaster & Fred W. Rose
Amongst the many lesser-known British mapmakers of the past 150 years are two in particular in whom I have taken a special interest: the late 19th Century English actress & comedienne, Lilian Lancaster [1852-1939]
and the Victorian Inland Revenue clerk, Fred W. Rose [1849-1915].
Fred W Rose – Revised Edition Serio-Comic War Map for the Year 1877
I have been researching the life and career of Fred W. Rose over several years, a project which I will be bringing to wider public notice & attention in the very near future. He is a truly fascinating individual whose interests and exploits, beyond Somerset House and satirical map making, deserve to be published.
I presented an illustrated lecture on Fred Rose at the June 2016 London Map Fair at the Royal Geographical Society & a further article on his Serio-Comic Maps appeared in the Autumn 2016 IMCOS Journal (No.146)
I am a long-standing member of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association (ABA) and International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) as well as the International Map Collectors’ Society (IMCoS) and the International Society for the History of the Map (ISHMap).
I am also an elected Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS).
I very much hope that you will find much to enjoy & to purchase here on the Barron Maps website!