New Exhibition Charts 700 years of Cartography in Fiction

The Sunderland Collection of world maps has announced the creation of Ex Carta, a sister collection dedicated to fictional and world-building cartography that spans more than 700 years across over 160 maps from 1506 to the present day. 

Ex Carta’s first institutional loan will be to the upcoming exhibition Fantastische Karten/Fantastical Maps at the Zurich Central Library in Switzerland, from September 4 through 5 December 5. Maps from literature, film, games, and role-playing worlds will trace how visual storytelling has informed imaginary geographies for centuries.  


Beginning with the first printed maps of Dante’s Hell (1506), the collection extends through landmark works including Treasure Island, Jules Verne’s adventure novels, Robinson Crusoe, Peter Pan, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Winnie-the-Pooh, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, Agatha Christie's novels, Dune, Asterix, and Game of Thrones.

It also includes iconic fictional cartographies from film and television such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Mummy, and the Marauder’s Map from the Harry Potter series.  
From the worlds of gaming and interactive fiction, highlights include printed maps from Dungeons & Dragons, Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest, Forgotten Realms, Myst, World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy, Elden Ring, and Pokémon. Ex Carta also holds first edition examples of historical works that inspired or perpetuated story-worlds, such as Mountains of Kong, Atlantis, and Captain Bligh’s Narrative of the Mutiny on the Bounty.


“Early maps often show mythical creatures, imaginary islands, excerpts from Biblical stories, and other narratives, directly influencing writers and game-makers working years later," said Helen Sunderland-Cohen, Director of Ex Carta and The Sunderland Collection. "Ex Carta showcases the fascinating interweaving between maps and storytelling. It is a love letter to the human imagination, and the magic of stories, including those we create ourselves through playing games or being inspired by the stories we hear."