Tuesday, January 18, 2011

I didn't realize


During our tour of the Brooklyn Historical Society on October 20th we were shown a map on a table in the magnificent library. I don't seem to have taken a picture of it.
I now believe we may have been looking at the remarkable Ratzer map of New York City made in 1770 which is one of only four copies in existence and which is written up in today's NY Times. Or was it another old map we saw?

This got me wondering what other things (and people) of great significance I may encounter in daily life and never recognize, partly because of the never-ending din of the media and popular culture which engulfs us in trivialities, and partly because uniqueness, the really important, doesn't usually blow its own horn.

1 comment:

Maria said...

How interesting. I am so glad you toured the library and saw the map. A good adventure.