A reflection on the waterlining technique in relation to the history of map ornamentation

摘要

The aim of this paper is to draw the interest of cartographers and scholars to a cartographic device known as waterlining which has received little interest in the histories of cartography. In this paper that absence is explained by discussing reasons that have to do with the ornamental nature of waterlining, and by providing counterarguments grounded on its artistic, technical and past economic significance, after which it continues with a narrative on the development and demise of other cartographic representations of water, placing special emphasis on the art and craft of waterlining. In particular, an explanation is proposed for the survival of waterlining vis-a-vis the earlier retirement of other water markings. Additionally, the documentary proofs of a 19th century mechanical invention are studied as well as its puzzling lack of success beyond its native Ireland. Lastly, old and modern ways of waterlining are reviewed, mentioning in passing the roles waterlining can play, inter alia, in computer solutions to problems of pattern recognition and maritime boundary delimitations.