Journal Article

Reports: New atlases of individual countries

Sprawozdania: Nowe atlasy poszczególnych krajów

By Stanisław Pietkiewicz· 1937

Publication: Przegląd Geograficzny
Volume: 17
Pages: 101-110

Czechoslovak · Version 1

1935

In his survey of national atlases, Stanisław Pietkiewicz gives a detailed review of the Atlas of the Czechoslovak Republic, edited by Jaroslav Pantoflíček. He describes its 55 plates, principal map scale of 1:1,250,000, French text, and Czech–French titles and map explanations. Coverage extends from physical geography and history to population, agriculture, industry, transport, education, social welfare and sport. He particularly praises the detailed treatment of socially important demographic topics, the use of small territorial units and numerous intensity classes, and the atlas’s graphic design, colours and printing. He considers its consistent colour scales exemplary and notes the combination of area and point methods on the nationality and religion maps. He also observes that the accompanying chapters vary between independent accounts and explanations of the maps. While judging the atlas almost free of errors, he criticizes what he regards as biased nationality statistics, specifically the omission of Poles in Zamagórze.

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This article reviews the development of comprehensive regional atlases and provides a detailed assessment of major national atlases published in Europe during the first half of the 20th century. The author begins by noting that regional atlases serve not only as visual complements to statistical publications but also as scientific syntheses of knowledge about a country. Citing the 1910 and 1925 editions of the "Atlas de Finlande" as exemplary, the article traces the historical lineage of such publications, mentioning early examples from Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. The core of the article focuses on five significant atlases published between the world wars: the "Atlas of Industry of the USSR," the "Atlas de France," the "Atlas of the Czechoslovak Republic," the "Atlas des deutschen Lebensraumes," and the "Atlante fisico-economico d'Italia." The "Atlas de France," coordinated by the French National Geographic Committee, was planned to include 84 large plates covering topography, climate, hydrology, biogeography, agriculture, mining, industry, transportation, population, and politics. Its innovative cartographic concepts, such as aridity index maps and morphological maps, reflect the advanced ideas of the French geographical school. The "Atlas of the Czechoslovak Republic," published by the Czech Academy of Sciences between 1930 and 1935, is praised for its aesthetic layout, rich colors, and print quality, comprising 55 large plates on physical geography, geology, climate, biology, population, economy, and history. The article also reviews the "Atlas of Ukraine and Adjoining Countries," edited by Kubijovych, which covers natural, demographic, economic, historical, and cultural topics, though some maps exhibit political bias. Additionally, the author briefly discusses two smaller atlases: the "Atlas of the Free City of Danzig," focusing on human geography, and "Poland and Its Economy," published by the Königsberg Institute, which, despite its modest appearance, offers substantial content. The article concludes by summarizing the cartographic methods, organizational structures, and scientific merits of these atlases, noting their respective strengths and weaknesses.