World Map Prints & Wall Maps

World maps in three editions

The Contour & Coast map collection is our own house brand. Coastlines come from Natural Earth, and the sea floor on The Ocean Floor Map comes from GEBCO 2020. Line draws fine ink on cream over a soft land tint, in The World and the South Up World Map. Mono puts a black line on white, in the Black and White World Map. Painted carries a soft painted finish with the true coastline laid back over it, in the Painted World Map and the Kids World Map with Animals.

Every world map print here uses the Equal Earth projection and shows coastlines only, with no country borders. Equal Earth keeps each land at its true size. Bojan Šavrič, Bernhard Jenny and Tom Patterson created it in 2018. A Mercator map swells Greenland until it seems to outrank Africa. They suit travelers with a trip list, a study, and a first home short of pictures.

Antique maps and star charts from libraries

The antique maps and charts collection works the other way round. These are printed copies of historic maps and sea charts held in public libraries, each sold under the mapmaker's name. Every artwork page names the library and the record number. The Ortelius World Map comes from the 1570 first edition of the atlas by Abraham Ortelius. The two celestial hemispheres come from the 1708 printing of the star atlas by Andreas Cellarius. All are held by the Library of Congress.

None are in copyright. Before printing we tidy the file: the sheet is trimmed back to the edge of the map, the paper tone evened out, and any library stamps or shelf marks removed. The engraved lines stay. Stains, fold lines and the hand color remain part of the sheet. That is what a vintage world map should look like.

Choosing a size, a frame and a pair

Map pages open on 11 x 14 in framed, a workable start for a framed world map in a hallway. Every piece in the wall art range comes three ways. Art prints are unframed archival giclée on 200gsm matte paper, with textured etching paper as an upgrade. The framed version is slim wood in oak look, also black or white, with clear acrylic at the front rather than glass. No mat comes as standard; a white mat is optional. Each arrives ready to hang. Canvas runs 400gsm on a stretcher about 1.5 in deep, edges mirrored so the whole picture stays on the front. A float frame in black, white or oak look is optional, and the box holds no hanging hardware.

Sizes vary by piece. A shape is added only when the map fills it with a light trim and the file carries enough detail. The preview shows the crop you get. A wall behind a sofa takes more picture than the strip between two doors.

The framed wall art collection shows the finishes side by side. The two Cellarius star charts, northern and southern skies, sell as a pair: both charts share a size and a set of options, and buying them together saves 10% on the two bought apart. Hung above a bed or split across a room, they hold together as a set.