H. Lehmann · 1939
This review examines the 1938 Atlas of Tropical Netherlands, produced jointly by the Royal Netherlands Geographical Society and the topographical service of the Netherlands East Indies. Its 31 sheets contain over 70 maps. The reviewer describes its topographical and thematic coverage, highlighting the distinction between surveyed and conjectural contours, elevation colouring, and relief shading. Thematic maps cover volcanoes, earthquakes, vegetation, languages, education, geology, and economic activities, including export comparisons for 1929 and 1934. The Netherlands West Indies also receive coverage, though with less complete material. The reviewer praises the atlas’s cartographic quality, scientific reference value, and accessibility, supported by multilingual explanations and an extensive place-name index.
Karl J. Pelzer · 1939
The review assesses Atlas van Tropisch Nederland (1938), produced jointly by the Royal Netherlands Geographical Society and the Topographical Service of the Netherlands Indies. Planning began in 1909, but drafting started only in 1928 with government assistance. Its 31 double plates contain 31 large and 135 small maps, almost all in full color. The contents record scales and compilation and revision dates; the contents and full legends appear in Dutch, French, German, and English. Coverage includes relief, natural conditions, history, population, languages, education, and economic activity. The reviewer praises the atlas and its large-scale relief maps, while criticizing inconsistent hypsometric colors, shading that obscures elevations, an unclear land-use diagram, and the omission of a map of European plantations in Java. The final two plates cover Dutch possessions in the New World with less detail, which the reviewer interprets as reflecting the unequal value of the East and West Indies to the Netherlands.
Karl J. Pelzer · 1939
Karl J. Pelzer reviews the 1938 Atlas van Tropisch Nederland, jointly published by the Royal Netherlands Geographical Society and the Topographical Service of the Netherlands Indies. Planning began in 1909; publication was secured in 1928 when the colonial government offered the Service's cooperation. Intended for practical reference and surveys of scientific, social, and economic knowledge, the atlas contains 31 double plates with 166 maps covering topography, natural conditions, population, history, and economic activities. Dutch, French, German, and English legends accompany each map, and the multilingual contents record scales and compilation and revision dates. Pelzer praises it as an excellent scientific atlas while criticizing shading that obscures elevation and inconsistent hypsometric tints and color values. He notes that the final plates on Surinam and the Netherlands Antilles provide less detail and information than those on the East Indies, interpreting this disparity as reflecting the possessions' differing relative value.
