100 SECTIONAL ADDRESSES. 
that that is the direction in which we must go if we seek to improve the 
artistic appearance of our maps, which we surely must do after Lord 
Crawford’s challenge. For after last century’s neglect and deterioration 
there has been in this a very marked revival of knowledge and interest 
in lettering. There has even been published an admirable Blue Book to 
show how other Blue Books ought to be printed, and still are not. The 
fundamental reform is to cast out all ‘ modern style’ type and all block 
capitals. I think we shall find that what is right in printing is equally 
right in map drawing and lettering. True, it is much easier to change a 
printer’s type than a draughtsman’s style ; and nothing can be done until 
we have a collection made of good examples, and from those a new conven- 
tional signs sheet. This I hope to see. 
The question will then be raised, is it worth while to make the change ? 
Would one person in twenty notice the difference ? Probably not at first, 
for I will confess to you that when, some long time ago, I had a hand in 
changing the type of a certain journal, not one single person remarked it. 
But, nevertheless, they probably felt after a time that somehow or other 
that journal was a good deal improved in appearance ; and I believe that 
the improvement would be much greater in maps. Therefore in this home 
of map-making, that must print twice as many sheets as any other town 
in the world, I plead for reversion in lettering to something like the old 
style of the great masters. We have already been shown this morning that 
the Director-General and his staff are keenly alive to the scientific side 
of their work, and we have only to look at any recent folded map they 
publish to see that they do not disdain the artistic side—at any rate 
the artistic outside. That is a good omen and encourages us to hope. With 
that hope I conclude these reflections on the Science and Art of Map-making. 
