The mapping of Silicon Valley and Tech regions.
It's a topic we've been fascinated with.
So much so that we have sought out the mapmakers themselves to interview them about their work, their process, and what it was like at the time. It's been great fun, and we've gained new insights. Throughout these years we've been amassing a collection of the earliest and rarest of maps that focus on Silicon Valley, and many of those we've had signed by the original artists.
Our intention is to now offer them as a collection.
Please feel free to read through the following pdf, let us know if you have any questions, happy to convey price on request.
Three changing factors to watch for in studying maps of Silicon Valley
1. Changing businesses.
Early maps of Silicon Valley may show struggling chip or component makers. Or maybe a successful fax machine or photocopier company. Later maps illustrate the arrival of behemoth forces like Google, Facebook and others. These maps document the cutting edge of technological change that would begin to spread around the world. As the author William Gibson said, "the future is already here - it's just not evenly distributed". These maps watch new technologies pop up, some succeed, and some change the world.
2. What happened to the towns?
Over time many map makers would focus on the business ecosystem exclusively and omit things like towns, cities and even highways. Not just one map maker, but many would leave out what we would think of as essential to just dramatize the companies. And yet, even without reference landmarks, the maps still made sense, maybe because everyone knew where Apple, Atari, or Stanford were located, and the rest can be approximated.
3. Redefining the region.
What had been a specialty business ecosystem nestled just within the highways of the south San Francisco Bay would spread to the coast and reach around the entire Bay. Likewise maps for Silicon Hills (Texas) and other regions will many times exhibit creeping expansion of what was once thought to be a specific, contained location.