Conformal-ish and silly.

[daan]

This might be the silliest arrangement of a projection that I have ever seen in an expensively produced map.

McCormick spice route map

IMG_0230.jpg (133.72 KiB) Viewed 2014 times

I know. Design, and the clipped out portions don’t have routes to show. But but but. Oh, all right.

(Posting sparked by recent conversation in another thread about conformal-ish maps.)
— daan

[quadibloc]

We couldn't afford to draw the map on any projection more complicated than Gall's Stereographic projection.

But we wanted it to look like we used a mathematically profound projection, so we gave it a funny border!

[Atarimaster]

My guess is that they wanted a bit of “look & feel” of classic world maps like, for example, this one of 1689 but knew nothing at all about map projections. Thus, it didn’t even occur to them that there might be someone who does and who could tell them how to come up with a map like that.

Which reminds me:
Some years ago, Apple had an OS X Server icon which probably was meant to be an orthographic projection but, ummmm… wasn’t.

[quadibloc]

Some years ago, Apple had an OS X Server icon which probably was meant to be an orthographic projection but, ummmm… wasn’t.

I think you're right about the map; as for the icon, I think the motive is equally transparent; they wanted to make the part of the world most important to their target market loom larger.

[Atarimaster]

as for the icon, I think the motive is equally transparent; they wanted to make the part of the world most important to their target market loom larger.

I’m not so sure about that because a few years later they updated the icon which makes me think that someone told the guys at Apple to take a single look at a globe.

[daan]

I can see how McCormick might have wanted more continuity between the hemispheres than a double-hemisphere arrangement would afford, while still evoking the æsthetic. I think what they came up with serves the purpose, more or less, but it really made me twitch the first time I looked at it!

— daan

[quadibloc]

I think what they came up with serves the purpose, more or less, but it really made me twitch the first time I looked at it!

I agree with your assessment: as a map, it's questionable, but as a decorative advertising item, does it have to be cartographically sound?

Unfortunately, your optimal equal-area projection wasn't yet available when they made that map!

EDIT: I did a search for that map, and found that there was an earlier version of that map from around 1931 which was made in the same style. So this was a repeat offense from McCormick! Oh, and that map was larger; it included the flags of the countries of the world on it. Canada's flag, the Red Ensign at the time, however, is wrong; they show the abbreviated coat of arms as being placed within a white circle. But the United States flag wasn't included, and they explained why:

"NOTE: The United States Flag is not shown on this folder in accordance with the Flag Code of the National Americanism Commission of the American Legion which requests that the flag be omitted from any form of advertising."

Well, advertisers do always wish to avoid offending anyone. And the American Legion is a veterans' organization; initially, I was a bit more startled by that notation because I imagined they were something like the Daughters of the American Revolution before I remembered what the organization really was.

[daan]

How, really, does one mess up a flag.
‾\_(ツ)_/‾

We can only hope they prepare their spices with more care.

— daan

[Piotr]

Another conformal-ish projection is to blend a plane chart with Lambert cylindrical equal area, with a parameter of 2.0. This can be simulated by scaling Lambert cylindrical equal area by 0.5 in all directions and rotating at an angle of 180°, then blending the two projections and scaling the blend by 4 in all directions.