NEWSLETTER NO. 7 OF 2010
AXIS OF EVIL MAPPING NEWSLETTER # 7 end of August, 2010
NEW TITLES FOR THIS MONTH!
Havana and Western Cuba, Kyoto and Japan South, and Togo/Benin
The Axis of Evil Mapping Newsletter is released irregularly. Any opinions expressed are strictly those of myself and are not intended to provoke anything more than the intellect.
INTRODUCTION
Lan is too busy this month being a doting grandmother to consider doing any travelling, so we sat out North America’s worst heat wave in decades in our air-conditioned offices. So is Johnny. Of course, he doesn’t do much more than poop and sleep, so is our most unproductive employee. Lan Phuong, our daughter, is working part-time for us now, mostly while Johnny snoozes, and our son-in-law Linh has joined our wholesale division. Work is progressing on several new ITM maps, with seven already at press and a sixth about to go. ITM/Mapline is building inventory and is already supplying dozens of retailers from Miami to Montreal and Edmonton to San Francisco. Starting next month, part of the Axis newsletter will be devoted to other lines than ITMB as we re-build map supply to North American retailers.
UNIVERSAL ACQUIRES AMERICAN MAP CORPORATION
The Kappa conglomerate, which earlier this year swallowed up Mapsco, has announced that it has acquired the intellectual property and other assets of American Map Corp., Hagstrom Map Co., Alexandria Drafting Company, and Hammond World Atlases from the Langenscheidt Group. German-owned Langenscheidt had placed the AMC part of its business up for sale sometime last year. Kappa will move the companies into its Universal Map Group LLC division and says that it plans to retain all the trademarks and names of the different lines. It also says that it will expand their presence in the US under their current trademarks AND Universal AND its Kappa brand, which appears to be contradictory. Langenscheidt has not yet said what will be happening to their Insight Guide book line or their Insight Fleximap line.
The significance of this purchase is enormous. Rand McNally, the leading US publisher producing paper maps, is apparently dropping some of its paper map titles, which appears to leave Universal in a strong position to fill gaps as they occur. Furthermore, by acquiring the AMC brands, Universal acquires a lot of digital artwork and a strong customer base in New England, New York, the Washington region, and Florida. None of these were significant markets for Universal previously. If Kappa is able to invest sufficient funds to breathe new life into AMC, which has been looking more and more like a dead horse for the past couple of years, well and good. This might just be the shot in the arm that the US map market has needed to restore consumer and retailer confidence. However, there are also a lot of firms that are owed money by AMC, mine included. When Kappa bought Universal, they welched on paying any of the printers or suppliers that were owed money by Universal. This left a bad taste in a lot of mouths and I certainly hope that Kappa learned its lesson. Firms deal with other firms, not the owners of firms, and debts owed by a firm are corporate obligations, no matter who owns the firm. A change of ownership does not mean that the new owner picks and chooses what obligations he honours.
HERFF-JONES ACQUIRES REPLOGLE GLOBES
Replogle Globes has been sold to their long-time competitor, Cram, via Herff-Jones, a conglomerate that owns Cram and also owns Spherical Concepts (founded by John Szal). I have no details, but it reduces globe manufacturing in North America to one firm, as far as I know, even if the new owners run the merged concern as separate divisions. This move not only puts Herff-Jones into the driver’s seat in a one-horse buggy, so to speak, it also gives them direct competitive access to the European market, because Replogle also owned Scanglobes of Denmark, and this part of the firm was presumably sold as well. This change of ownership took me by surprise, particularly following the final conclusion of long-drawn-out negotiations regarding AMC (above). I’ve received no word as to corporate changes involved in personnel. This move does not, however, bode well for the future. Monopolies never work well.
I READ IT IN THE PAPER
Here’s a stupid crook story from a recent local paper. In New Westminster, a part of Greater Vancouver, a 43-year-old man chatted to two policemen outside a coffee shop, followed them inside, and after they placed their orders and were standing beside him waiting for their food, this character tried to hold up the place by demanding all the money in the till! Remember, this was while standing right beside two uniformed policemen! Needless to say, he has an appointment with a judge in a few weeks! The mind boggles at his stupidity.
A man in Prince George, BC, robbed a bank this week. He was caught fairly quickly because the teller was able to describe him to the police – about 80 years old, wearing a large straw hat and a colourful Hawaiian shirt, and using a metal walker unit to get around. He was caught a few storefronts from the bank five minutes later, making his getaway verrry slowly. I swear that I don’t make these stories up.
Canada has beavers. Is there any creature more associated with this country than the beaver? They’re so cute that they pretty much do what they want, and the rest of us put up with unwanted dams and gnawed away birch trees with as much good grace as we can. Well, a husky dog in Red Deer, Alberta, was killed recently by two beavers. Details are a bit sketchy, because obviously the friends of the beavers aren’t co-operating, but the dog probably got between the mother beaver and her kits, as baby beavers are called. Mom screamed bloody murder, and charged. Dad probably surfaced from somewhere nearby and tackled the dog as well, who was already unmatched by the furious female. Of course, it could have been Dad attacking assisted by Mom; with beavers, who can say which is male and which is female? Anyway, the local council is debating what to do. Kill the beavers? Relocate the beavers? Sue the beavers? Put up signs that no dog could read, warning everything to avoid the beavers? Arrest the beavers? Are you kidding?!! These flat-tailed rodents personify Canada and Canadians: mild-mannered, slightly boring, and always apologetic. That’s the beaver, and isn’t that how the world sees Canadians? Kill a beaver??? Are you nuts! No one kills beavers. Just remember; our beavers are lethal! Cute as a button, but lethal.
CANADIAN HUMOUR
That’s sort of an oxymoron, eh, saying Canadian and humour together? The editorial cartoon in a recent local paper really hit the mark for me. Uncle Sam and Johnny Beaver are in a bar and Uncle is pouring out his woes – unemployment is up, consumer confidence is down, foreclosures are way up, bankruptcies growing, debt is insurmountable, oil spills are creating havoc, foreign wars not going well – the whole shebang. Beaver sips his beer and says “You think you’ve got problems? Our mandatory long-form census just got scrapped.” If you don’t get the joke, you’re not Canadian, eh?
MAP LINK’S SAGA CONTINUES
The news is spreading about Map Link’s closure and our distribution division is receiving calls every day from concerned retailers. It’s been wonderful to touch base with so many people, and to share experiences as well as setting up accounts. We’re a people-based company. Customers are never just dollar signs for us (see Macmillan, below). We’re happy to help retailers get what they need, provided that falls within our ability to do so. Here are some ‘eternal truths’ for retailers:
MACMILLAN PUBLISHING
Indianapolis-based Macmillan, which markets about 5,000 titles, mostly of an academic nature, has informed 3,500 retailers that it can no longer be bothered supplying any store ordering less than $10,000.00, purchase price, annually. They have apparently sent out letters to this effect, saying it took them too long to fill ‘small’ orders. Awh!!! Poor babies. What an attitude! Cut off thousands of customers because they’re more work than dealing with one or two big box chains. This firm deserves to go out of business.
MAP DISTRIBUTION: SOURCES OF SUPPLY FOR RETAILERS, LIBRARIES ETC.
MAPLINE DISTRIBUTION
MapLine is the new marketing name for North America’s oldest and most experienced map distribution firm. ITMB has been in business since 1980, and has been marketing A-Z, Borch, Freytag & Berndt, Gizimaps, IGN, Nelles, Ordnance Survey and several other publishing lines for donkey years. Mapline is owned by ITMB, but is independently managed by a very experienced distributor, Jiri Navratil, who will be assuming the importation and marketing responsibilities that I’ve handled for so many years. This will separate ITMB’s publishing activities from the supplying of a wide range of publishing lines to retailers in North America. ITMB will continue to supply bulk purchasers and distributors with ITMB maps, including Mapline.
Our intention is to represent a broad and attractive range of publishing lines through a neutral name, with fair treatment for all and reliable servicing for government agencies, libraries, corporations, and independent and modest-sized chains of our friends the retailers of America. Based in Vancouver, BC, and Point Roberts, WA, we are ideally placed to supply Canadian as well as American customers with a wide range of respected and well-known international map lines, and invoicing/pricing/ paying in local currencies. Jiri can be contacted at mapline@itmb.com or by phone at 604 273-1400 (Fax 604 273-1488) to set up an account or discuss your needs. Our wholesale staff will be working hard to get your orders filled promptly and with a good rate of fulfillment, and we are bringing new staff into training to ensure smooth growth. Please be patient in the short term while we gear up for larger sales orders. Independent Canadian retailers will benefit by improved communications and a wider number of lines being available within Canada, and we’ll do our best to carry the lines that our American customers want.
OMNI RESOURCES
Russell Guy has been operating Omni for about a quarter century and is a well-known and experienced distributor of maps. Coming from the geology world, he has specialized in what most of us would call the weird and wonderful maps that he has marketed to libraries, government offices, and business people who needed specific maps that would probably not be found in most bookstores, such as the National Atlas of Korea, or detailed topographic maps of Morocco. However, Omni also has a broad range of both international and domestic map publishing lines to supply to retailers, such as ITMB, Gizimaps, Rand McNally, Pittman, and a host of other lines. Based in Burlington, North Carolina, Russell is ideally placed to supply east coast destinations quickly, and can supply customers throughout the USA. He can be contacted at guy@omnimaps.com or by phone at 910 227-8300. A listing of his firm’s product lines for retailers will be included in next month’s Axis newsletter.
WORLD MAP SOURCE
Mark Walker originally ran Treaty Oak, back in 1990s. He re-located to California a number of years ago and set up a business supplying maps of various Mexican publishers. This proved successful and he has expanded his range to include ITMB, along with the Guia Roji product line and several other Latin American publishing lines. Mark is based in Santa Barbara, CA. A complete listing of titles available from his firm is posted at www.worldmapsource.com and his email address is mwalker@worldmapsource.com. His office phone number is 805 687-1011. A listing of his firm’s product lines will be included in next month’s Axis newsletter.
DISTRIBUTION LINES AVAILABLE FROM ITM/MAPLINE
AA (UK, the Automobile Association) – This is to Britain what the AAA is to America. AA has a wide range of road maps of Britain and Western Europe, and well as a series of street atlases for many UK urban areas.
A-Z (UK, actual name is Geographer’s A-Z Map Corporation) – publisher of an excellent spiral-bound street atlas of London, and of maps of many of England’s major cities
Borch Verlag (Germany) – publisher of a range of travel maps of various countries, printed on laminated paper
Canada Map Office (Canada, obviously) – is the publisher of 13,500 topographic maps of Canada, which is a huge responsibility. Scales are 1:50,000 and 1:250,000; a limited range of flat maps is also available.
Canadian Cartographic Corp. (Canada) – Formerly Rand McNally Canada and Mapart, this new company publishes folded travel maps of Canadian urban areas. We can only supply US and overseas customers.
Collins (UK, formerly Bartholomew) – We have been marketing this line since 1982. Its strength is in street maps of Britain and in road atlases of Britain. Most international titles have been dropped.
Franko Maps (USA) – publisher of a growing line of international and exotic travel maps, with an emphasis on diving. They have excellent maps of Palau, Truk, the Turks & Caicos Islands, and Hawaii etc.
Freytag & Berndt (Austria) – publisher of a wide range of international country maps, city maps, and Austrian hiking and recreational titles, along with several atlases
Gizimaps (Hungary) publish an excellent line of Asian, Eastern European, and Middle Eastern countries
Hema Maps (Australia) – We do some marketing for Hema, but they also maintain their own distribution
IGN (France, Institute Geographique Nationale) – The French government publishes excellent 1:100,000 scale maps of France, and we can order in the more detailed 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 scales (there are too many to carry them in-house). They also publish a wide range of international travel titles of countries of interest to France.
Insight Maps (Germany, but obtained from the AMC division of Langenscheidt USA) – At the moment, we’re all experiencing difficulties obtaining this line, but we do our best. Give us a try. We have inventory.
ITMB Publishing Ltd. (Canada) – is a publisher of a wide range of travel-related maps of regions, countries, and cities in Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, Canada, and the USA; 425 maps in print.
Mussio Ventures (Canada) – The Backroad Mapbook series is a Canadian phenomenon of 8.5x11 spiral-bound atlases of just about every part of Canada covered by roads.
National Geographic Society Maps (USA) – We have been marketing this line in Canada for the past ten years and can now supply American customers. We can also supply Trails Unlimited into European areas not covered by marketing agreements. Supplying wall maps to the USA is OK, but costs to Europe are prohibitive.
Nelles Verlag (Germany) – publisher of an excellent range of travel titles, mostly of Asian destinations
Nicolson Maps (Scotland) – Nicolson is the paramount publishing house in Scotland, with street maps of just about every town. They are also assuming Ordnance Survey responsibilities for the greatest little country east of Canada
Ordnance Survey (Ireland) – publishes detailed 1:50,000 scale maps of the island, and excellent 1:250,000 series of four sheets, and various urban maps and all-Ireland maps
Ordnance Survey (Britain) – publishes detailed 1:50,000 Landranger maps (204 titles) and 1:25,000 Explorer maps (465 titles) covering England, Scotland, and Wales. Most other titles have been discontinued.
Planet Earth (USA) – The inflatable Earth Globe is an affordable and easily marketed map-related product.
Replogle Globes (USA) – Canadian distribution rights only for this excellent line of globes
Touring Club Italiano (Italy) – maps and atlases of Italy and sections of Italy
NEW ITMB ARTWORK UNDER DEVELOPMENT or AT PRESS
Dominican Republic and Haiti is out of stock, but has been updated and is almost ready to go to press. No ETA is available at the moment. The reason for the delay in competing updating is simple. Thanks to the recent massive earthquake in Haiti, a tremendous amount of new cartographic information has become available to us and we’re adding it to our artwork for Haiti. This incoming information is significant.
Indonesia is out of stock. It is in the process of being updated and should be available again in October.
Kenya is almost out of stock.
Lebanon is out of stock and being updated and re-worked into a double-sided map, with the Lebanon side being expanded to a full-sized sheet and the reverse side being a brand new and detailed map of Beirut at 1:8,500 scale. Lan and I are planning to make a special trip to the country in October, to check information.
Mexico South is out of stock. It is being moved to a new platform language in a modernization process, as well as being updated, which is almost complete, so should be available in late September or early October.
Tanzania is out of stock and being updated. No ETA is available.
Tunisia is out of stock. We are re-working it into a double-sided map with Libya. No ETA is available.
Venezuela unexpectedly ran out of copies sooner than anticipated, and is currently being updating. This was Kevin Healey’s last map. He died a week after it was released at the IMTA convention in Portland, Maine. It was prepared manually, and we were able to update it until changes in technology occurred a few years ago. Not to worry! Our digital data base for South America is the best in the world. We have a new, double-sided, digital map roughed in already, and a brilliant new map at a better scale will result. It will take a couple of months, but the wait will be worthwhile. Sorry for any inconvenience, that this is a necessary process.
NEW TITLES July, 2010
Australia Travel Reference Map 6th Ed. 2010 1:3,500,000 on waterproof ITM paper should be available in early September. This is a minor updating, so please continue selling until sold out before re-ordering.
Bahamas Travel Reference Map – has gone to press and is expected in early September. This will be brand new digital artwork and will be a double-sided map.
British Columbia Travel Reference Map 7th Ed. 2010 1:1,250,000 ISBN 9781553418283 UPC 815534182838 $6.95cdn/us, E6.95 6.99GBP – This is our seventh printing of our most popular provincial map for Canada. As with previous versions, we have updated road changes and new bridges. BC is not changing particularly quickly at the moment, due to the economic recession, but tens of thousands of people continue to migrate to the province each year, and its population is expected to double over the next twenty years. Thanks to its enormous size, huge tracts of land have been set aside for wilderness preservation, and yet the province boasts a road and rail network that would be the envy of smaller countries. The scenery tends to be described in superlative terms. Since I live her, I’ll avoid the clichés, and content myself by saying that not only is this map superlative, we’ve reduced the retail price, so it is much more affordable both in America and overseas. Printed on paper, double-sided; inset maps of Victoria and downtown Vancouver; AVAILABLE.
Canada Travel Reference Map 1st Ed. 2010 1:6,000,000 ISBN 9781553411581 UPC 815534115874 $9.95cdn/us, E8.95 7.99GBP Well, it’s about time, eh?!? ITMB, after only thirty years on the go, finally gets around to publishing a map of Canada. When we first started mapping, there was a pressing need for good maps of Central and South America, then of Africa, then etc et and we never found time to concentrate on our own country until fairly recently. This map was prepared by Natural Resources Canada and is, as a result, as accurate a map as one could hope to have. We are very proud of it, and very pleased to be able to use such top-rate cartography. The map covers all of the land mass of Canada, from its southernmost point to the top of Ellesmere Island and from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific. It’s an excellent map, but I’m going to give one proviso. Canada is the second-largest country on the face of the planet and there is no way that a single-sided sheet can portray a country this vast comprehensively. That said, it’s a great map. CMO doesn’t make a bad map. We published it because we feel that it fills a big niche. It shows major roads, rail lines, lots of urban areas (not just the big ones), major tourist sites and parks, world heritage sites, and it even includes St. Pierre et Miquelon, the French possession south of Newfoundland. It is printed on paper and is AVAILABLE!
Havana and Western Cuba Travel Reference Map 2nd Ed. 2011 1:10,000/1:600,000 ISBN 9781553416388 UPC 815534163844 $10.95cdn/us, E7.95 7.99 GBP – This newly-updated double-sided map offers an updated Havana City touristic-sites map on one side, and a lovely western portion of Cuba on the other. It should be quite popular. Havana, interesting though it is, does not in itself constitute sufficient interest. Visitors go to Cuba, and visit Havana while there. Hence, the idea of a map of the immediate surrounds of the capital city, going from east of the Varadero resort complex to the westernmost corners of the island, showing all touristic attractions. This map is perfect for visitors to the resorts in the west of Cuba to have both an excellent map of the city and a map for all their travel needs in the area of Cuba most likely to be toured. AVAILABLE.
Jordan and Syria Travel Reference Map 3rd Ed. 2010 1:610,000/1:740,000 ISBN 9781553412748 UPC 815534127457 $12.95cdn/us E8.95 7.99GBP. This has proved to be our most popular eastern Mediterranean title over the years. The latest edition has fabulous new cover pictures (with a double-sided cover, so either side can be face outwards), has brand new and detailed inset maps of Amman and of Damascus, and has had its road system checked against several internet sources. This is a really good buy; two maps for the price of one, of two adjacent and complementary countries of equal touristic interest. AVAILABLE.
Kyoto and Japan South Travel Reference Map 2nd Ed. 2011 1:12,500/1:1,100,000 ISBN 9781553412700 UPC 815534127020 $10.95cdn/us, E7.95 7.99GBP – This map should really be called Kyoto, Nara, and Southern Japan, because that is what is on the map, but the title would be too long. Both Kyoto and Nara are extremely important areas in Japanese culture. They are heritage cities and a ‘must see’ for anyone visiting Japan. In line with our policy of adding value to maps, this map also includes an excellent regional map of the south of Japan, which we have generously decided stretches from Tokyo west to Nagasaki, and south to the bottom of Kyushu Island. This map includes the best touristic area in an otherwise complicated country to visit. Most tourists concentrate on the western, or more southerly, areas of Japan, and this map shows both Kyoto and Nara to excellent advantage, and as a bonus, is also a map of the railways and attractions west and south of Tokyo itself. This is an excellent practical map. AVAILABLE.
New Zealand has gone to press, details to follow.
South America North Travel Reference Map (replacing South America North West) 5th Ed. 2011 1:3,850,000 ISBN 9781553410782 UPC 815534107855 $12.95cdn/us E8.95 7.99GBP – This map is brand new and is another brilliant cartographic coup for Lan and our production staff. She has come up with a way to preserve the wonderfully detailed artwork of the original version first published in 1980 by Kevin Healey, the co-founder of ITMB, and subsequently published by ITMB in four succeeding updated editions. We retired the artwork several years ago, feeling that the market preferred more detailed country maps, but repeated requests for a map of this nature convinced us to have a look at it again. This map replaces the former map of North West South America at a better scale than was previously thought possible and with the additional benefit of covering ALL of the northern half of South America on a double sided sheet. We have also re-introduced the capsule comments so loved by map aficionados in past years. This map is ideal for travelers concentrating their activities on this part of South America. It is quite clear for a map of this scale, yet it contains a tremendous amount of information. It also graphically shows how few motorway-type roads there are in this part of the world. AVAILABLE.
South East Asia Travel Reference Map 4th Ed. 2010 1:4,000,000 ISBN 9781553410775 UPC 815534107770 S12.95cdn/us, E8.95 7.99GBP. The part of the world from southern China, through the Indo-Chinese peninsula, and sweeping through the Indonesian archipelago to the hundreds of islands comprising the Philippines, is a fascinating part of the world to map. Countless cultures interact in this vast region – the mountain people along the Vietnamese/Laotian border, the fisherman of coastal regions and islands, the lovely and gentle Balinese, and the business-like Javanese. This is an extremely important part of the world – touristically attractive, economically thriving, and scenically unbeatable. This latest edition will be useful for anyone visiting the region. It is detailed, printed double-sided, and is AVAILABLE.
Togo and Benin Travel Reference Map 2nd Ed. 2011 1:580,000 ISBN 9781553414377 UPC 815534143720 $12.95cdn/us E8.95 7.99GBP These two countries have developed an incredible tourism industry and are very popular with visitors. They are larger than one expects; small in comparison to neighbouring Nigeria, but large as countries go. This map is brand new artwork at a much more attractive scale than the previous version; printed double-sided with much more information than was available to us when the original map was being developed. We’ve also added a few capsule comments about interesting facts related to the two countries, and large inset maps of Lome and Porto Novo. The map is divided into north half and south half, as most attractions are in the south. As with all ITM maps, this one shows physical features, road conditions, and petrol stations in more isolated parts of both countries. AVAILABLE.
Virgin Islands – has recently gone to press, details to follow.
TITLES THAT ARRIVED IN OUR WAREHOUSE IN THE PAST THREE MONTHS
Algeria Travel Reference Map 1st Ed. 2010 1:2,000,000 ISBN 9781553411062
Bahrain/Manama City Travel Reference Map 1st Ed. 2010 1:115,000/1:10,000 ISBN 9781553411246
Botswana, including Zimbabwe, Travel Reference Map 5th Ed. 2010 1:1,500,000 ISBN 9781553411475
Burundi, inc. Rwanda Travel Ref. Map 4th Ed. 2010 – see Rwanda
Central Asia Travel Reference Map 1st Ed. 2010 1:2,400,000 ISBN 9781553410294
Europe Railways Travel Reference Map 3rd Ed. 2010 1:3,350,000 ISBN 978155341
Ho Chi Minh City/HCM Region Travel Reference Map 3rd Ed. 2010 1:15,000/1:300,000 ISBN 9781553416395
New Guinea Travel Ref. Map 2nd Ed. 2010 1:2M/1:1,650,000 ISBN 97881553413424
Rio de Janeiro/Brasil East Coast 2nd Ed. 2010 1:12,500/1:3M ISBN 9781553416845
Rwanda and Burundi Travel Ref. Map 4th Ed. 2010 1:300,000 ISBN 9781553413820
Sao Paulo/Southern Brasil Travel Reference Map 2nd Ed. 2010 1:12,500/1:2,200,000 ISBN 9781553416876