National Archives Brief (RESEARCH) - Maps

MAPS

I have been asked to choose two maps for the front and back cover of the children activity book I have been asked to design.

I chose these two maps because I admire the simplicity and faded colours. I feel like these will work well as backgrounds for the design of the activity book.  I think there should be some contrast between the front and back cover.

Right now I am considering using 'map 2' for the front cover because I can see a lot of potential with the placement/ layout of text and some imagery. 

Map 1

Murder at Kirk o' Field

Kirk o' Field is in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is well known as the site of the murder of Lord Darnley (the second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots) and father of King James VI. 
Darnley's death still remains a unsolved mystery. On the national archives page about this map, it tells the viewer about each section and asks if you can work out what happened. 

There are a lot of different tasks related to each section of the map. I decided to include a screenshot fo the 'teacher's notes'. 

Link to the National Archives map - http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/kirk-o-field/

Map 2  

Atlas Maritimus, Scandiavia, Greenland, Russia coasts by John Seller, (1698)

This is one of the earliest English maps of the region, extending from Russia, Greenland and Northern parts of Scandinavia. 

This map has a number of interesting images. A lot of them are borrowed from Dutch sources, mainly  Blaeu's map of the North Pole which is shown below. 

John seller is one of the most important people in the early history of the map and chart publishing trade in England. He was the first Englishman to try and create a atlas publishing business to compete with Blaeu.