Book reviews: Atlas of the Netherlands

This review assesses the ninth installment of the Atlas of the Netherlands, published in 1974, which raises the total number of released map sheets to 77. The installment contains four transport maps and one map of historical farmhouse types. The latter compares the regional distribution of five farmstead forms around 1500, 1700, and 1850, using color intensity and overlaid hatching to distinguish older types, subsequent development, and newer forms, although substantial generalization is unavoidable at the small scale. The transport maps employ graduated flow lines, proportional points, and segmented circles to represent road, rail, bus, inland-waterway, maritime, and air traffic. Particularly noteworthy is A. J. Karssen’s innovative graticule for aviation flows, which enlarges zones toward the center. Overall, the cartographic quality remains consistently high, while prices have risen with production costs.