Cartographies of Time: A History of the Timeline

I don’t often give in to impulse buys, but I just ordered Cartographies of Time, and I’m pretty sure it’s going to be well worth the thirty bucks.

Cartographies of Time is the first comprehensive history of graphic representations of time in Europe and the United States from 1450 to the present. Authors Daniel Rosenberg and Anthony Grafton have crafted a lively history featuring fanciful characters and unexpected twists and turns. From medieval manuscripts to websites, Cartographies of Time features a wide variety of timelines that in their own unique ways—curving, crossing, branching—defy conventional thinking about the form.

Vintage infographics are the bestest. Even though everything had to be drawn by hand, a lot of the stuff from the 1800s (or in this case, the 1400s) looks way better than some of the graphics being put out nowadays. Or maybe that’s why they’re better. Serifed typefaces, neutral colors, and metaphors galore. Tasty.

Does anyone already have it in hand?

[via Paper Cuts]

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