www.oldmap.co.uk

Our Origins
In 1926, an American chemist named Charles Promislo accidentally spilled a beaker of chemicals on his laboratory table and left the mess to clean up in the morning. By the next day, the spilled liquids had soaked through some papers. The papers had reacted in a strange way, for each sheet was aged, wrinkled and old. Being something of a history buff, Charles Promislo was particularly intrigued by his discovery.
 

He devoted several years to perfecting his unique 11- step paper ageing process. Some 20 years or so later a chance meeting occurred with one Victor Mort. Mr Mort from England was also something of an historian. He hit upon the wonderful idea of publishing old maps and applying the ageing process to each one. So it was that Porter Prints was born in the mid-1950's operating from the city of York in England. Victor Mort was fortunate in that he acquired an original John Speede atlas - The Theatre & Empire of Great Britain published in 1610. Carefully reproduced and individually treated Speede's maps almost came to life!

Elizabethan map of Gloucestershire

The combination of John Speede's masterpieces and Promislo's paper technique was, and still is to this day quite unique. Steve Roberts & Lauren Tillotson acquired Porter Prints in the early '90's. From a shed in a Cornish fishing village this heritage gift range from THE OLD MAP COMPANY™ was born.

Today
Today, many maps later from those early beginnings, customer interest just continues to grow. The maps remain comparatively rare - the ageing process takes weeks to achieve, and can't be mass produced. With a well established customer base throughout the UK including such world famous heritage sites such as York Minster, Edinburgh Castle & The National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, we delight in still offering a unique gift product: so rare in these days of impudent plagiarism.
 

All of the maps we offer originate from the John Speede Atlas of 1610 and through our unique dating process look as old as the original!! Not only do they look 400 years old but they have the texture and aged aroma of a 400 year old map!!! They make great gifts for all ages and will fascinate anyone who sees them! We are proud to supply our maps to some very prestigious organisations around the world including Warwick Castle, The Greenwich Maritime Museum, The National Trust, Exeter Cathedral, Edinburgh Castle and many other famous attractions worldwide.

Elizabethan map of Middlesex

What our Customers say..
“Here is an order for a further 7. They are to be placed in files with our family histories”!
       K.P, Vale of Glamorgan

“Thank you so much for your kind help, I look forward to receiving my antique map to help my daughter with school project work in relation to this area of the country.”
       S.C, Warwickshire.
 

“Such historical antique maps are invaluable to scholars and a service to academics studying the evolution of medieval towns and cities through the centuries. I enclose an order for a further 5 maps.”        R.C, London “I am absolutely delighted with my antique map. It is so interesting. I would now like to purchase another Map for my sister as a Christmas present.”        K.H, Middlewich "Thank you for the antique map of The Invasions of England Wales & Ireland. I have greatly enjoyed this map. I would now like to purchase two further old maps - Warwickshire and The World. Thank you for such a wonderful series"

Elizabethan map of Scotland

(These and hundreds of other un-solicited testimonials are held at our offices.)

THE OLD MAP COMPANY™ is still a family operation and takes pride in producing these authentic replicas on antiqued parchment paper that look and actually feel old. We could ask a considerably higher price for these wonderful maps - each a gift of heritage. However, the goals of preserving England's history and educating people about our countries rich heritage, remain just the same as those of Charles Promislo, Victor Mort and indeed the great John Speede himself.

To see some of the maps on offer please visit www.oldmap.co.uk

www.oldmap.co.uk