Rough sketch of things that interest me w.r.t maps and atlases:

(1) Maps as wonders/spectacles:

• Marvels at the boundaries of ancient maps.

• Treasure maps and locations of shipwrecks.

• Mapping things below us: caves, tunnels, sewers, the deep ocean.

• Mapping things above us: ancient cosmography, star charts/atlases, bird migrations.

• Mythical lands, lost lands/civilizations, lost cities.

• Nowhere, Non-Places, Elsewhere.

• Maps and power, e.g. political uses of cosmography, secret maps for war, etc.

• 1:1 maps e.g. Borges, Eco.

(2) Aesthetics and maps:

• Impact of maps on literature and writing.

• Drawing maps.

• Cartography as an art.

(3) Varieties of atlases:

• Physical geography.

• Cultural, historical, and economic atlases.

(4) Exotic travel writing.