Cheshire James: The Library of Lost Maps

At the heart of University College London, nestled in the centre of Bloomsbury, lies a room that had remained undisturbed for decades. When Professor James Cheshire stumbles upon it, he set about exploring its contents in the hope of saving them. For three years, he sifted through the countless dusty drawers and was stunned to discover some of the most significant maps and atlases from the last two centuries - many of which have not seen the light of day since they were created.

Maps dating back to the eighteenth and nineteenth century that chart the course of colonisation, empire and power; maps that trace the icy peaks of the Himalayas and the deepest depths of the ocean; maps that guided oil prospectors to untouched lands ripe for exploitation; maps that walk us through the fog of the First World War; and maps produced by the Nazis and the Soviet Union, each envisioning a new world order after their imagined victories. These maps transport us to the moments when they were hung on government offices, laid out on tables at oil company board meetings and shared with the public in times of crisis. More than mere relics of the past, they are also omens into the root of the most pressing challenges of our future: from the environmental crisis and geopolitical conflicts, to global pandemics and mass migration.

Beautifully illustrated and brimming with astonishing discoveries, The Library of Lost Maps is a journey through 200 years of history. The ambitions, motivations and critical revelations of world order were all foretold in these lost maps that not only show us what has been, but also what we are likely to become.