A project of passion and patience

For four decades Erhan Öner has been painstakingly collecting maps of Turkey, assembling a cartographic collection that is now one of the largest and most comprehensive of the area. His maps range in date from the 15th century, the early days of the Ottoman Empire, through to the 20th century and the early days of the Republic, and encompass historical, military, marine and archaeological maps, and even postcards with maps on them. Examples by the renowned cartographers Abraham Ortelius, Gerardus Mercator, Jodocus Hondius, Homann Heirs, Freres Lotter, Visscher Family, Sanson Family, John Speed and Frederick de Wit are among the highlights.

A project of passion and patience, Öner`s collection is finally being published in a four-volume catalogue. Displaying as many as 1,500 maps on 2,000 pages, it will be an important reference work for academics, researchers and fellow collectors. At the same time it is a visual feast, with beautiful illustrations, engravings and vignettes.