Dutch cartocubism

A forgotten attempt to simplify maps from the interwar period.

To Sonja Kuijpers

My wife and son spent the past week in The Hague visiting a friend. So I browsed the local antique bookstores and museums to see what kind of souvenirs they might bring me back. The Hague is important to our dataviz history because Otto and Marie Neurath, and Gerd Arntz spent part of their exile here. In Hague they founded the ISOTYPE company, and Otto Neurath founded the Mundaneum Institute (with the permission of Paul Otlet). The local Kunstmuseum houses a significant portion of Gerd Arntz’s graphic estate. So I was excited to see what I’d find from the Netherlands this week!

I didn’t know much about the history of Dutch data visualization, even though it seemed interesting based on Marieke Gelderblom’s research on the 19th century beginnings. So I set out my search in three places: the Geheugen image archive, the historical archive of the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics, and the Delpher digital library. I did find some interesting graphics, diagrams, and maps, but I also found a truly unique piece on Delpher: De wereld in rechte lijnen (The world in straight lines), an oblong mini-atlas/manual by D. E. (Derk Everts?) Zuidhof published in Haarlem, 1931. The publisher was the prestigious Joh. Enschede company, known for its high quality printing works.

The cover of the atlas

The goal of the atlas

In the early decades of the twentieth century, the discipline of cartography—and particularly its application within the sphere of primary and secondary education—was characterized by a rigid and largely unquestioned adherence to topographic realism. The primary, overriding objective of the educational school atlas was the exact, mimetic reproduction of the physical world. Mapmakers and educational publishers prioritized the precise delineation of coastal contours, the intricate, fractal meandering of river systems, and the exhaustive detailing of complex political boundaries. Against this highly positivist backdrop, the publication of the atlas De wereld in rechte lijnen in 1931 represents a radical, and ultimately suppressed departure from established cartography.

Zuidhof, a figure with a mysterious background about whom I haven’t been able to find out substantial information (maybe he was son/grandson of Derk Everts Zuidhof, an author and schoolteacher in the mid 19th century), writes the following in the introduction:

“It is repeatedly complained that young people lack a somewhat adequate understanding of maps, that they have no clear grasp of, for example, location, boundaries, size, direction, distance, number of inhabitants, population density, sea depths, seabed elevations, etc., etc. In my opinion, the cause of this lies in the fact that, in earlier years, the foundation for this was neglected in primary schools. While various of these subjects are discussed in passing, the necessary care is not devoted to them. Through a visual representation, various of these matters should be presented so simply that they make a lasting impression on the child’s soul and can never disappear from it. The accompanying map work is an attempt in this direction. It aims, therefore, to truly fill a void; primarily among today’s youth, and furthermore among the more mature youth and the elderly. May it find its way into schools (for young and old), onto the desk of the one who reads his newspaper attentively, into offices, and onto reading tables.

That this be so is the wish of the designer.”

The diagrams

So what is Zuidhof’s proposal for the simple representation? To simplify borders, geographical features, and topographical elements on a map to such an extent that they can be drawn using only straight lines.

Population density diagram of Netherlands. In D.E. Zuidhof: De wereld in rechte lijnen. Haarlem, 1931. Image courtesy of Utrecht University/Delpher.

Diagram of Netherlands and surrounding countries. In D.E. Zuidhof: De wereld in rechte lijnen. Haarlem, 1931. Image courtesy of Utrecht University/Delpher.

Population density diagram of Europe. In D.E. Zuidhof: De wereld in rechte lijnen. Haarlem, 1931. Image courtesy of Utrecht University/Delpher.

On the left: Distribution of land and water. On the right: The average height of the continents in 3D map, 3D bar and simple bar chart. This solution later appears in Erwin Raisz’s 1944 Atlas of Global Geography. In D.E. Zuidhof: De wereld in rechte lijnen. Haarlem, 1931. Image courtesy of Utrecht University/Delpher.

Diagram of Europe and Dutch East India. In D.E. Zuidhof: De wereld in rechte lijnen. Haarlem, 1931. Image courtesy of Utrecht University/Delpher.

Population density diagram of Java and Netherlands. In D.E. Zuidhof: De wereld in rechte lijnen. Haarlem, 1931. Image courtesy of Utrecht University/Delpher.

Diagram of the continents. In D.E. Zuidhof: De wereld in rechte lijnen. Haarlem, 1931. Image courtesy of Utrecht University/Delpher.

Diagram of the colonies in the world. In D.E. Zuidhof: De wereld in rechte lijnen. Haarlem, 1931. Image courtesy of Utrecht University/Delpher.

Zuidhof also included instructions along each “Cubist map” on how to construct it from the “original” map view.

After the publication

Fortunately, quite a bit of information about the atlas has survived. For one thing, Zuidhof was not only an enthusiastic proponent of the method, but he also traveled throughout the country giving lectures on the atlas. A report on his promotional work at a conference using eight large sized school charts appeared in the newspaper Nieuwe Leidsche Courant on 12 August 1932.

The other information is that the prestigious, still-existing Uitgeverij Noordhoff publisher actively considered the possibility of taking over the publication rights or financially backing a follow-up edition of Zuidhof's modernist atlas for wider, commercially viable distribution. However, to evaluate the pedagogical viability, scientific validity, and commercial potential of these highly unusual schematic diagrams, Noordhoff’s executives sought the professional, external advice of “the elder statesman of Dutch cartography”, author of many school atlases, K. Zeeman. In the description of Zwiggelar Auction House, which estimated the atlas’ value between EUR 65–130, we can read, that Zeeman found Zuidhof’s diagrams ridiculous and advised against its wider distribution. According to the auction house’s information, Zeeman answered the following:

“I cannot recommend this publication; some 25 years ago a similar cubist publication also appeared; it disappeared without a trace. At most, you might get a few good reviews from fanatical reviewers. Thus I have settled the matter with Mr. Zuidhof in writing; you will not be bothered by him anymore regarding this publication.”

Unfortunately, I don’t know yet which cubist atlas from 25 years earlier Zeeman is referring to in his answer.

If we look at the stylistic influences of the atlas, it is indeed not difficult to see the influence of cubism, as well as that of the Dutch De Stijl group (Theo van Doesburg, Piet Mondrian, etc.). At the same time, as Zeeman also refers to it, attempts had already been made to simplify maps and reduce them to basic geometric shapes. See for instance Émile Levasseur’s cartogram proposed at the 1876 Budapest Statistical Congress.

Levasseur’s cartogram in Congrès international de statistique à Budapest : neuvieme session du 29 août au il septembre 1876 : Programme v. 1-3. Image courtesy of University of California/Hathitrust.

We also know previous English, Hungarian and German examples for squaring the actual administrative borders.

Squaring the nation - two strange Hungarian cartograms from 1902

Regardless of these earlier examples, Zuidhof’s radical, Cubist-geometric approach can be described as unique and was driven by a concept quite different from that of his predecessors. Since it was forgotten for a long time even in the Netherlands, it is difficult to demonstrate its impact. His 3D scaling solution later appears in the work of Erwin Raisz.

Zuidhof’s 3D scaling method appears in Erwin Raisz’s 1944 Atlas of Global Geography. Image courtesy of David Rumsey Map Collection.

And to round out this story: In 2017, Dutch visual artist John Körmeling created a digital conceptual light-art-work titled De Wereld in Rechte Lijnen. The artwork was commissioned for the renovation of the Dutch National Archives building and was installed on its facade. The National Archives is located in The Hague.

John Körmeling: De Wereld in Rechte Lijnen. 2017. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.