I breathe in deep before I spread those maps out on my bedroom floor.

November 20, 2010 7:09 PM

Where can I buy a number of different maps? I want to make a big, random map collage.

I'd like to decorate the plain, white walls in my apartment. Recently, while flipping through an atlas, I got the idea to paste together a few different maps and create a random mishmash to put up on one of the walls. I don't care if the maps are outdated or not, but I'm not sure where to find a bunch of large maps. I would prefer world or regional maps, though city maps are fine too. Road maps are out.

Where can I find assorted maps for sale? The lower the cost the better, as I don't have a huge budget for decorating.

I'm in Toronto and would love to buy them in a shop, but I can order online too.

Thanks for your help!

posted by gursky to Shopping (14 answers total)

How do you feel about nautical and aviation charts? Those go out of date pretty regularly, so you might be able to get no-longer-useful-for-navigation maps for relatively cheap at a store that sells them.

Hiking / outdoors stores often have large, visually interesting maps such as USGS quads. I don't know if the Canadian equivalent would work, or what.

Here in Seattle there's a map store I like, Metsker Maps, which does sell online.
posted by hattifattener at 7:16 PM on November 20, 2010

Best answer: Freecycle is an excellent resource for things like this. It seems that there are four local freecycle groups in Toronto, and I would be surprised if a request for outdated maps didn't turn up several offers.
posted by DrGail at 7:26 PM on November 20, 2010

See if Federal Publications (University and Dundas) have any outdated charts.
posted by scruss at 7:35 PM on November 20, 2010

National Geographic used to include maps with various monthly editions. I'd check used book stores and Freecycle.

British Ordinance Mapscan be bought online.
posted by Ideefixe at 7:41 PM on November 20, 2010

Try the US Geographic Survey - it is a federal agency that sells a wide range of maps at a nominal cost. If you have a USGS office nearby, you can call and ask when they have sales of their out of date maps. (I remember they were recommended as great wrapping paper.)
posted by metahawk at 7:59 PM on November 20, 2010

Sometimes thrift stores (ARC, Goodwill, etc.) have stacks and stacks of National Geographics, some of which will include maps.
posted by scratch at 8:26 PM on November 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

My university library had a semi-regular map sale. My friend bought an awesome wall-sized map of Canada last year. Check to see if your local universities do the same.
posted by easy, lucky, free at 10:20 PM on November 20, 2010

Best answer: I actually bought an entire box of assorted Nat Geo maps off of ebay. This was about 8 years ago now, but you can still find fairly large lots for a decent price: 122 maps for $11.50 (1 day left), 94 maps for $9.99 (15 hours left), or 75 maps for $6.99 (6 days left). Prices in USD, not inclusive of S&H.

And that's just in the first two of 49 pages of results. Nat Geo maps may not be what you're looking for, if you're just wanting straightforward maps with no embellishments. People sell all sorts of map collections on ebay. There are a fair number of road maps, but there is this guy selling lots of vintage continental, European and Canadian maps. He also has some US cities and states. These are more expensive, starting at around $2/map, which may be more than you're looking to pay.

Bricks & mortar, I would check anywhere that book donations are accepted - many folks donate NGs and other non-book printed materials including maps, since it feels wasteful to just throw them away.
posted by clerestory at 2:15 AM on November 21, 2010

PS - Know anyone in Georgia? The State of Georgia is surplussing a lot of 150 classroom maps for $1/map. Pickup in Kennesaw, GA only. Although with 150 classroom maps, you might need a bigger wall.
posted by clerestory at 2:28 AM on November 21, 2010

Members of AAA (American Automobile Association) can get all sorts of roadmaps from them for free. If there is a similar organization in Canada, find out if that's one of the benefits of joining. It might be worth it for the free maps (plus the emergency roadside assistance).
posted by Jacqueline at 3:39 AM on November 21, 2010

I have about 2000 topographical maps of Canada that I really need to pass along. I've got them up on craigslist right now.. I guess I'll compete with those ebay prices, if you are interested.
(plus shipping, of course--140 maps is a full bankers box!)
posted by Chuckles at 11:37 PM on November 21, 2010

Best answer: Try library sales - I've definitely seen boxes of outdated maps at my library's sales.
posted by kristi at 2:43 PM on November 25, 2010

Response by poster: thank you for the awesome suggestions!

as luck would have it, i will be moving sooner than expected, but i will revisit these ideas when i am settled into my new place.

thanks again!
posted by gursky at 8:53 PM on December 5, 2010

I happened to notice a display of decorative maps in a store today and thought of this askme: Cavallini & Co
posted by hattifattener at 2:39 PM on December 18, 2010