The map of
New Zealand is one of my all time favorites, the North and South islands that shape the country are perfectly framed and the process of creating the map was epic. I've made numerous trips to the island nation exploring it in the hands of friends who live there, what a beautiful country!
I made the map as a gift for a Kiwi friend on the South island who routinely leaves cases of the wine he makes "Middle Earth" at my house when he visits. We've toured the world together; Cuba, Panama, Bahamas, the American southwest, throughout Europe, Turkey and Russia. When I'm in New Zealand he takes me everywhere from lovely islands in the north to the southland region, even to the remote Chatham Islands far offshore.
I wanted to make a map worthy of the landscape and enlisted the help of another friend from New Zealand who spent his early years on tug boats and barges around the coasts of both islands. An example of his nautical expertise was a suggestion that the Humpback and Blue whales shown on our draft map be reversed based on where he saw them while operating vessels offshore (Blue whales being primarily in the extreme south, Humpbacks slightly further north, who knows that!)
The map further evolved when I visited my wine friend for a wild ride around New Zealand visiting spots I'd missed on earlier trips. We met other Kiwis who made map comments along the way using his truck, ferries, planes and helicopters for access. The result was a beautiful map which hangs on walls across New Zealand and is now on display at the gallery of Island Map Publishing in Naples.
To purchase the New Zealand map visit our site here or call 239-963-3497 for more details! Island Map Publishing is happy to work with you on special orders or assist the right product for your space.
Island Map Publishing is a small company I started years ago since clients of our Marine & Environmental services company liked the maps we produced for their projects. I collect antique maps from the 1500s, 1600s and 1700s when most of my collection is dated. They originated in Europe where maps from that era were made and displayed on the walls of those who dreamed of and studied the New World. We decided to make similar maps of America's coast, including the Keys, along with islands in the Bahamas and Caribbean. They're colorful wall maps to dream, reminisce and plan trips upon.
We started making the maps years ago when talk of writing a Keys history book began with Brian Schmitt, my co-author and fellow map collector. Ten areas were chosen for individual maps, areas which have never been shown in the fashion we've crafted them - colorful wall maps to dream upon.
The new maps are used in our book to describe the history of those individual areas, how they were settled, when the railroad came through, unique features and stories about that particular stretch of the Keys along A1A. They're also used to compare with the first detailed Keys maps, produced by the U.S. Coast Survey in the mid/late 1800s. The Keys were virgin then and the Coast Survey work is displayed next to our 10 modern era maps at the same scale. The comparison shows how the islands were altered by causeways and bridges built for the railroad and by the later development of dredge and fill waterfront subdivisions. The changes are dramatic. Additional detail can be seen in development area overlays used in the next chapter, clear overlays on top of 1959 aerials that show how land emerged from the swamp and sea. These are at a scale where Individual lots can be picked out if you or a friend lives in the area. The images are astounding.
To check out all of our maps visit our site today! If you have questions regarding the size, material, or just curious about the store please call 239-963-3497. 
Long Island has to be the "longest" true island on the eastern seaboard of the U.S. I'm from Florida, so here are some comparisons: Long Island would stretch from Key West to the Ocean Reef Club on Key Largo about 115 miles away, the same appx distance as Long Island is from east to west Long Island would thereby cover the largest coral reef in America. It'd span over a million alligators in the Everglades between Miami and Naples, where I live on the Gulf of Mexico. Running east from Miami the island would span the Gulfstream and extend 60 miles beyond Bimini on the Great Bahama Bank.
By far New York's largest, the island runs the width of Connecticut with Long Island Sound separating the two states. The Island is as diverse as it is long, from Brooklyn's busy scene at the west end, affluence of the north shore and Hamptons, Fire Island National Seashore, the boardwalk at Jones Beach on the south shore and the relative calm of Montauk. People of almost every nationality on earth live and work on Long Island, the sum of wealth and property exceeding that of some countries.
My experience on the island is limited to a few frantic drives on business, a beautiful run out to Montauk Point Lighthouse and a crazy bachelor party on Fire Island. Since we always have our new maps checked for local knowledge, I turned to a biologist in our office who grew up on Long Island sailing the Great South Bay along the south shore with her father and mother. She checked the proper names of towns and geographic features since we don't copy other maps to make ours, we study things that make our display of the land and sea unique.
If you'd like to see our map of the island or other maps along the east coast, have a look at Island Map Publishing's web site or stop by our booth at the Annapolis boat show the weekend of Oct 8th. 
The Outer Banks is arguably the most famous string of barrier islands in the United States. The archipelago runs from south of the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia City to Cape Lookout near Beaufort, North Carolina. The Outer Banks also have one of the most impressive group of Lighthouses in America with light-stations at Currituck Beach, Roanoke Island, Bodie Island, Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout.
The area has been popularized recently by the hit television show "Outer Banks", which tracks the path of a wayward group of teenagers who find a large stash of gold coins and are in-turn pursued by evil adults who want it for themselves. It's a favorite of my wife's 19 yr old son, of course, and of ours too. We have a friend who organizes the water scenes for the show, so we get some unique insight. He also did the water scenes for the movie "Titanic", so the series "Outer Banks" is in good hands.
As a kid, I remember vacationing near Kitty Hawk where the Wright Brothers first flew in 1903. That world-changing event stuck into my young mind and I eventually became a pilot myself, working my way through engineering school as a flight instructor. I also recall epic fishing trips out of Hatteras and Ocracoke Inlets where friends and I caught yellowfin tuna and other gamefish offshore. Having them onshore for dinner, with a cold beer or wine, is something every American who loves to eat fish should experience! The Outer Banks also feature loads of parks & preserves, including Cape Lookout National Seashore for kayaking, paddleboarding, boating and other family activities.
For all the above reasons it was a pleasure making a map of the Outer Banks to display on the walls of kids looking to explore and grown-ups who experienced and will never forget memories of these wonderful islands like I do. The Outer Banks Map and others will be on display at the upcoming Annapolis Boat Show in October. 
With every map we make at Island Map Publishing, I physically go to the area being drawn to meet with locals introduced through a network of yacht captains I know. They usually enjoy reviewing our map drafts and I always deliver a nice canvas copy to them when the project is complete. Experienced boaters familiar with local waters can point out things that will enhance a map and often catch errors or omissions. Marina managers will help as do locals around the docks who like to comment. You always want the map to pass local muster, which isn't as easy. We also have a marina client in Naples who's family is from Maine where they still maintain a summer home on Penobscot Bay.
When we started our two maps of Maine, I knew I'd have spend a week or two there to have a clue since my last trip was on a bike ride around Bar Harbor as a teenager. One of our maps covers the whole state of Maine and the other enlarges Penobscot Bay.
My trip started in Boston with a first night in Portland, Maine where I visited a new marina on the harbor and ate some fabulous seafood. After meeting with a captain there, I drove up the coast in a bee-line for the Canadian border so I could work my way back south. Driving around the countryside of Maine is a blast and the little towns around hundreds of bays and islands are wonderful. The weather was lovely compared to Florida in late summer I could have stayed until Christmas (guys at a craft brewery in Bath insisted they would come to Naples for Christmas and use my boat if I would please stay there).
Our maps of Maine came out great and if you happen to be at the Annapolis Boat show in October, they'll be on display in Amanda's popular Island Map booth. Come see us! 
I often give talks on history using antique maps as props. The maps are usually from my collection or from friends who are true map experts. We love the incredible stories ancient maps tell us and they've been used to help write "coffee-table" books on Naples (my home), the Bahamas (our boat's home) and the Florida Keys.
Our little company "Island Map Publishing" has produced antique style, waterfront maps from Maine to Texas including all of the Caribbean. We've finished the Great Lakes and New Zealand and are now completing California to Washington state, destined to finish the entire continental U.S. coastline in the future.
By "antique style" I mean maps which resemble old fashion wall editions (from the 1500s thru 1800s) which were displayed at European and American institutions and on private estates. They were used to discuss the exploration and colonization of the Americas.
Our map of 
My interest in Key West became more serious when we started to make maps of Florida with a ten map series dedicated to the Keys and Dry Tortugas. Key West is a particularly important map because of the island's rich history and it's alluring nightlife, which is about all most people around the world know about the Keys. As with each of our maps, I go the location with the goal of making an attractive wall piece which visitors can understand and that locals approve of in terms of names and nuances.
I made several dedicated trips to Key West and stayed in historic hotels. As I went to the various landmarks it surprised me I'd been to them before, a habit inherited from my parents, though I'm sure some of my visits were in an altered state. A love of history also got me started collecting antique maps many years ago.
After finishing our map of Key West we started contemplating a coffee table book on the Keys which came to be in early 2020, The Florida Keys, A History Through Maps. It was only possible with my co-author who grew up in the Keys and also collects antique maps.
Key West is an island city that was once the wealthiest and largest town in Florida, built on the back of shipwrecks along the Keys reef line. There's railroad history and much more to explore when you get there, maybe even a seafood restaurant and a bar or two!
For more information on the