Dörflinger, Johannes, Die Österreichische Kartographie im 18 und zu Beginn des 19. Jahrhunderts unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Privatkartographie zwischen 1780 und 1820. 1. Band. Österreichische Karten des 18 Jahrhunderts and 2. Band: Österreichische Karten des frühen 19. Jahrhunderts. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1984 & 1988. ISBN 3-7001-0646-7 & 3-7001-1480-X. 24xl5cm., 351 & 866pp., illustrated, paper. (Dr.-Ignaz-Seipel-Platz 2, A-1010 Wien, Austria, ÖS 560 & 630)

For many English speakers, German mapmaking is something of a black hole.  Even more so with Austrian mapmaking.  These two books provide a helpful antidote to that ignorance.  I suspect most collectors will be interested in the volume dealing with the 18th century, which actually includes a little information about earlier times.  The most familiar names to collectors will be those of Schraembl and Franz Johann Joseph von Reilly.  Collectors will occasionally encounter Schraembl's four sheet map of North America, though sometimes single sheets are offered.  For these two publishers, information is given on both their atlases and the individual maps in them.  Biographical information is also given.  I always wondered how a German could be called von Reilly - now I know!  A useful feature of both books is a geographical index of maps.  The second book covers the early 19th century.  Each section deals with a particular publishing house, with a final section on minor houses.

David C. Jolly, 1991