Taking ephemera to new worlds, an LA-based ad agency has helped launch the Rumsey Map island in Second Life. The island features antiques from the legendary David Rumsey Map Collection.
Featuring unique ways to experience antique maps —from a fly-through topographic scale model of 1882 Yosemite to immersive celestial spheres that provide an 18th-century experience of the heavens, the Rumsey Maps islands in Second Life offer a new perspective on how we interact with maps.
Maps featured prominently in the Rumsey Maps islands include:
Yosemite, 1883: 64-acre topographic scale recreation of Yosemite Valley from an 1882 survey, allowing deep immersion and avatar flythroughs.
New York, 1836: Large model of Manhattan Island, with “cars” to drive around on the streets.
World Map, 1787: Allows visitors to insert a virtual “pushpin” and say a few words about their home town.
Grand Canyon, 1882: A dimensional shadowbox of this panorama from Point Sublime.
World Globe, 1790 and Celestial Globe, 1792: Allows visitors to immerse themselves in an 18th-century view of the world and heavens.
In addition, David Rumsey is providing a wide variety of virtual giveaways in the David Rumsey Welcome Center, including interactive, multi-zooming map viewers, as well as static maps, globes, and other cartography equipment.
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