2017 Holzheimer "Maps & America" Lecture

Event time: 6pm

Christopher Lane, an appraiser for the PBS television program "Antiques Roadshow" and a longtime map shop owner, will present a talk entitled “Flows of Illusion: Waterways to the Pacific” on Thursday, April 13, 2017 at 6 p.m. in the American Geographical Society Library, located on the third floor east wing of the UWM Golda Meir Library, 2311 E. Hartford Ave.

For three and a half centuries, from the earliest days of the discovery of North America, the notion of a water passage across the continent was an idée fixe for many explorers, geographers, and politicians.

In the sixteenth century, there was thought to be but a narrow land bridge between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans,and even when the vast size of the interior of North America became known, many still believed that there was some system of rivers and lakes, with short portages, which would offer a practical channel to reach the western coast.

These postulated and hoped for mythical waterways were a product of misinformation, misinterpretations of reports and observations, and just plain wishful thinking and it wasn’t until the middle of the nineteenth century that the absence of any practical watercourse across North America was established once and for all.

This lecture, free and open to the public, is a look at the theories and searches for these flows of illusions, quests which did not realize the hopes of the seekers, but did help unfold the physical reality of the continent.

Christopher W. Lane is the owner of The Philadelphia Print Shop West, a Denver antique map and print gallery. In his over three decades in his profession, Lane has written many catalogues, articles and books on related topics, including on his particular interest in cartographic myths. He has lectured widely and has appeared for 20 years as a map and print expert on PBS’s Antiques Roadshow.

This will be the 28th “Maps & America” lecture, supported by an endowment created by Arthur and Janet Holzheimer.

A reception will be held at 5:30 p.m. immediately preceding the talk. For more information or special needs call 414-229-6282 or email agsl@uwm.edu.

For more information or special needs, call 414-229-6282 or email agsl@uwm.edu

Price: Free and open to the public