A Map or Chart of the Road of Love, and Harbour of Marriage (1748) by “T. P. Hydrographer; to his Majesty Hymen and Prince Cupid,” one of the very many maps clearly reproduced in this fourth volume of the University of Chicago Press’s History of Cartography, offers guidance to such hazards as the Whirlpools of Beauty and Adultery, the Rocks of Jealousy, and Extravagance Bank. The Land of Desire sits opposite Cuckold’s Shire. The scholarly text that the editors attach to this map draws attention to the contrast between this and the French Carte de l’isle du mariage (1732), which has marriage as an island. In the British map from 1748, it is presented in a more benign light, with “Content Bay” and “Felicity Harbour” leading off from...

 

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