Printing the Battlefront with Jo-Ann Wong

During World War II, cartographers joined the ranks of journalists in the efforts to convey information quickly and effectively to the public. Where geographical accuracy had once been a map’s prime aspiration, the immediacy of the moment and the desire for editorial flair created a demand for maps that reported current events and military strategies with illustrations, expanded infographics, and eye-catching fonts. Using materials from the Library’s collections, Jo-Ann Wong, reference librarian at the Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, demonstrates the ways in which new needs and desire for information reshaped cartographic traditions.