I served in the Royal Navy when I was younger, and many of the people I served with had been involved in the Falklands conflict in 1982. I remember first stumbling across a map of the Falklands/Islas Malvinas entirely in Spanish, with familiar islands and landmarks carrying completely different names. It really opened my mind to there being two sides to every story, and I remain fascinated by how a tiny group of islands can still evoke such passion on both sides of the argument. This is why I decided to offer both maps as the starting point for this particular collection.

It was this idea of the familiar and unfamiliar that inspired me to look for other maps of places you may recognise, but perhaps not quite as you know them. There is something wonderful about seeing a familiar place through the language and perspective of the people who live there.

I think maps look fantastic on walls. They can bring structure to an eclectic collection, sit beautifully alongside more colourful pieces or simply become a focal point in their own right. Best of all, people actually stop and look at them.

One issue I have found digging in the crates for interesting maps is that a lot of the time they are a bit battered, with fold marks and fraying edges. This can look cool sometimes, but mostly not. All BAXCO maps are produced in exactly the same way as our fine-art prints, using archival pigment inks on museum-grade Hahnemühle Photo Rag paper. I hope you enjoy the collection.

Kevin Baxter
London
August 2026