The Atlas of Uganda

B B Whittaker recounts the compilation, production and cartographic strengths and weaknesses of the 1962 Atlas of Uganda. With departmental resources largely committed to land administration and topographic mapping, the decision was taken in October 1961 to begin compilation in January 1962 for independence on 9 October. Printing finished on 4 October; only two presentation copies were ready for Independence Day, and sales began shortly afterwards. The atlas covered Uganda's physical environment, resources, population, economy and history, pairing maps with explanatory texts, statistics and photographs. Most maps used a transverse Mercator projection at 1:1,500,000 in a square volume. Whittaker describes collaboration with Makerere University College and government specialists, including agricultural manuscripts supplied by David McMaster and historical contributions by Brian Langlands and H B Thomas. He explains base-map colour trials, scribing and masking with familiar materials, plate planning, hand-set lettering, photographic collection, distributed proof checking, printing and binding. The tight schedule favoured established techniques; lettering became a bottleneck, and overtime helped complete printing. His review of individual sheets explains population tinting and thematic colour choices while criticizing the medical and educational facilities maps, combined livestock dot distributions and poorly visible green roads. He identifies outdated freight information and proposes improved specifications and possible additional subjects for a future edition, while acknowledging research and data limitations. Discussants praise the speed and interdepartmental cooperation, compare East African atlas production, and debate road colours and urban representation. The supplied text also contains a separate report on Geodimeter 6 and Tellurometer 101 instruments.