Dear visitors of the first virtual antique map fair in the world.

The first virtual map fair in the world is modeled after an actual fair, a room with map dealers behind their stands, an opening of the fair, visitors entering the fair and going to the stands, perusing the stock of a dealer and start ‘talking’ with him like they would in an actual fair, asking for additional information on quality of a particular map, other maps of interest to them in his stock, terms of payment, manner and costs of shipping, insurance etc.

The site appears permanently on the internet. The home page gives general information and shows a list of the map dealers who participate in the upcoming fairs. For your convenience the maps are organized per geographical region, so you can see in one glance all the maps offered of the area you are interested in. A list of dealers is also provided.

You can contact the dealer who offers a particular map by hitting the button ‘contact dealer’ in the description of the map. You may also enjoy to peruse his stock as well as the stock of his colleague dealers.

In this way you can visit a map fair six times a year without the costs of traveling, hotels, etc. Subscribe as Collector Member to the Map Forum (in the right column of the homepage) were you can contact attending dealers, leave you areas of interest and your want list, and meet other map enthusiast. When entered the forum you can edit in ‘Visitor Control Panel’ your profile and your signature. In ‘profile’ you can enter your area(s) of interest and specify your search instructions. It is a general trend that people tend to make contacts on the internet, find others with the same interests, discuss and share knowledge on any subject you can think of. That applies also for the society of map lovers. The forum linked to the fairs site forms a platform for discussion about the fair, where dealers and map collectors alike can comment on the fair, say hello to old friends and make new contact with other map enthusiasts, inform others about coming events etc, in short, the social gathering that goes with visiting a fair. It is my hope that you will enjoy visiting the virtual antique map fair and make it a success.

Robert Putman