Reviews: General Atlas of the Congo

Summary

This paper presents a collection of critical reviews and a bibliographic listing from a cartographic journal. It evaluates four major atlas works and catalogs recent cartographic publications. The Salzburg-Atlas is commended for its vivid, association-rich design and balanced thematic coverage of the Salzburg region, combining 66 map sheets with extensive explanatory text. The catalog of hand-drawn Swedish maps held at Uppsala University Library is described as a carefully compiled inventory of 1,654 items, offering valuable material for historical geography and settlement studies. The Oxford Regional Economic Atlas of the U.S.S.R. and Eastern Europe is reviewed as an ambitious first volume in a series, praised for its objective synthesis of physical, economic, and demographic themes despite some shortcomings in relief representation and color choice. The Atlas Général du Congo is highlighted as a comprehensive, rigorously structured work, with 26 published sheets at a constant scale of 1:6,000,000 covering topics from geology and population density to languages, health, and administrative history; its bilingual commentaries and bibliographies make it both an atlas and a regional monograph. The accompanying bibliography lists a variety of new maps, handbooks, and methodological works, reflecting current trends in cartographic production and research. Collectively, the reviews and listings document the state of thematic and regional atlas cartography in the mid‑20th century, emphasizing clarity of presentation, scientific rigor, and the integration of maps with explanatory texts.