This magnificent looking big hardback has something for everyone and will create quite a stir when it hits the book stores. It's a selection of 100 of the most important, beautifully made, quirky, humorous and sometimes poignant maps from the comprehensive Alexander Turnbull Library collection, starting with an early Spanish map of the Pacific from which NZ is absent, and including a map drawn by the 67th regiment of the Whanganui River during the NZ Wars denoting "large forested areas" and "unfriendly natives". There are also beautiful-hand tinted maps of early Auckland, wacky tourism maps from the 1930s, early topo maps and much much more. Each map gets a detailed caption and the book kicks off with an introduction by David Small, the Turnbull's curator of maps and charts. It's big, bold beautiful and in full colour, and it's grouped chronologically.

About the Author

Includes introductory essays by Turnbull Library photographic curator John Sullivan and aviation historian Ross Ewing on the company's history and significance.