Arthur H. Robinson: Mapping

“There is also a considerable tendency to define the subject as a kind of meeting place of science and art. This is exemplified by Eckert. He pleads for artistic imagination and intuition in cartographic portrayal and claims that the inter-action of such talents with scientific geography produces the aesthetic map. There is no question about the importance of imagination and new ideas, but it is equally important that significant processes be objectively investigated, whether it be the visual consumption of a graphic technique or a process in geomorphology. It can perhaps best be approached by a comparison of the aims, techniques involved, and the results accomplished by each activity”

Arthur H. Robinson

Source: The Look of Maps (1952), p. 17; as cited in: Kirk Patrick Goldsberry (2007) Real-time Traffic Maps. p. 23-24

Art , Imagination , Idea , Question

“Good design looks right. It is simple (clear and uncomplicated). Good design is also elegant, and does not look contrived. A map should be aesthetically pleasing, thought provoking, and communicative”

Arthur H. Robinson

Source: Elements of Cartography (1953), p. 318

Communication

“There are few results of man's activities that so closely parallel man's interests and intellectual capabilities as the map.”

Arthur H. Robinson

Robinson (1965) as cited in: Matthew H. Edney (2008) " Putting “Cartography” into the History of Cartography: Arthur H. Robinson, David Woodward, and the Creation of a Discipline https://atrium.lib.uoguelph.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10214/1830/36-Edney.pdf?sequence=1"

“Today most maps are printed by lithography.”

Arthur H. Robinson

1978, p. 347
Elements of Cartography (1953)

“Our experience in the Cartographic Section of the [OSS Map] Division clearly showed that the creation of a special purpose map was frequently as much a problem in design as it was a problem in substantive compilation.”

Arthur H. Robinson

Source: The Look of Maps (1952), p. viii: As cited in: J. Crampton (2011) " Arthur Robinson and the Creation of America's First Spy Agency. http://icaci.org/files/documents/ICC_proceedings/ICC2011/Oral%20Presentations%20PDF/B4-Maps,%20GIS,%20security%20and%20planning/CO-174.pdf"

Problem

“Maps enable man to rise, so to speak, above his immediate range of vision, and contemplate the salient features of larger areas.”

Arthur H. Robinson

Source: Elements of Cartography (1953), p. 1; A cited in: Les Roberts (2012) Mapping Cultures. p. 142

“The author took the only course in cartography available to him in 1937; it must have been fairly typical of the few being offered in America: lectures based largely on personal experiences were supplemented by a relatively few assigned readings, and by Deetz and Adam’s Elements of Map Projection.”

Arthur H. Robinson

No textbook was used because there was none in English.
Robinson (1970, p. 189) referring to himself in the third person; As cited in: Jake Coolidge (2009) " Arthur H. Robinson: A Look at a Career http://jakecoolidge.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/arthur-h-robinson-a-look-at-a-career/". Oct 15, 2009

Reading , Personality

“The design process involves a series of operations. In map design, it is convenient to break this sequence into three stages. In the first stage, you draw heavily on imagination and creativity. You think of various graphic possibilities, consider alternative ways…”

Arthur H. Robinson

Source: Elements of Cartography (1953), p. 318

Way , Imagination , Thinking , Drawing

“Happiest day of my life, was when the Defense Department took down its Mercator… I started learning how to make maps while on an Army payroll. So getting to see mine in the Pentagon, flanked by generals, is a little like being a prophet who is finally honored by his hometown.”

Arthur H. Robinson

Robinson (1989) in Chicago Tribune; As cited in: Myrna Oliver (2004)

Life , Learning

“The assumption that effective cartographic technique and its evaluation is based in part on some subjective artistic or aesthetic sense on the part of the cartographer and map reader is somewhat disconcerting. For example, E. Raisz claims that the “effective use of lines or colors requires artistic judgment,” and J. K. Wright explains that the suitability of a symbol “depends on the map maker's taste and sense of harmony.” Throughout the literature there are numerous similar assertions regarding the assumed subjective aesthetic and artistic content of cartography.”

Arthur H. Robinson

Source: The Look of Maps (1952), p. 16; as cited in: Kirk Patrick Goldsberry (2007) Real-time Traffic Maps. p. 23