Tracing a Collector’s Map Encounters: Zacharias Conrad von Uffenbach’s Cartographic Journey in the Dutch Republic (1710–11)

How and why early modern printed maps, atlases, and globes were used is a central part of their material and cultural history, yet these questions form significant challenges. This article adopts an encounter-oriented approach to map history, using ‘map encounters’—cartographic experiences documented in contextual sources—to analyse cultures of map use in the past. The central case study is the published travel journal of the German traveller and map collector Zacharias Conrad von Uffenbach. Retracing his ‘cartographic journey’ through the Dutch Republic (1710–1711), the article examines four key aspects of early modern map encounters: the spaces where they took place, the objects and actors involved, and the experiences they produced. The article shows how maps were kept and used in different settings, identifies which maps were considered curious or noteworthy (and why), and captures personal, physical, and emotional engagements with maps. It argues that map encounters reveal a wide range of cartographic experiences, many of which did not require critical analysis or full comprehension, highlighting the broader diversity of people and practices involved in early modern map use.