Geographicus Rare Antique Maps — Local services in New York

Highly recommended. As of now Geographicus is BY-APPOINTMENT ONLY, not a walk-in store, so be sure to call ahead before stopping by.

This is a great antique map business tucked away on the ground floor of a beautiful historic limestone house in Brooklyn. It's located in newly-hip-about-to-get-hipper East Bed Stuy, a 5 minute walk from the Gates Ave. stop on the J/Z train.

Kevin the owner is friendly, passionate about his work, and very knowledgeable about antique maps. He has a great inventory covering not just the U.S. but all parts of the world. For example, he seems to have a better selection of maps from East Asia than a lot of American dealers out there. Don't be shy about asking him questions and telling him what your interests are, as he's happy to engage with anyone with a genuine interest in history and maps.

The online website is good for browsing and getting a general idea for what's in the inventory, but it seems like there's constant inflow of new inventory that's not on the website yet, so not a bad idea to call if you are looking for something specific and don't see it on the website.

SIDE NOTE: the great thing about old maps is that, not only are they beautiful, fascinating, rich with history, and all that good stuff, they make GREAT and unusual gifts. For people who really love a particular city or region of the world -- because of their travels, family history, hobbies, or whatever the story may be -- buying an antique map would not even occur to most of them, but most if not all of them would love it if they received one as a gift.

Now back to Geographicus. There are blocks and blocks of gorgeous brownstones / limestones nearby, and good cafes (e.g. Chez Alex, Kava Shteeble, Manny's) and restaurants (e.g. Saraghina, Khemistry Bar, L'Antagoniste, Peaches Hothouse). So locals and tourists alike can easily make a day trip out of it, in addition to checking out some awesome antique maps.

Geographicus used to be based in Manhattan and relocated to Brooklyn fairly recently, so last time I stopped by there's no sign up yet, so there's no way of telling there's a map store inside unless, well, you already know. In a way, it's like a secret speakeasy for antique map enthusiasts / collectors "in the know", hidden in the garden level of someone's lovely Brooklyn brownstone...

Which I find endlessly hilarious, given:

(1) the antique map world is esoteric enough as is, without uber-secret speakeasies;

(2) the idea of well-heeled old white men (heavy majority of the clientele in the antique map world seems to fit this description) in suits, standing in a long line on the sidewalk...in BED STUY, all waiting to get in on a hoppin' Saturday night;

(3) I know for a fact that Kevin the owner is actually a very good mixologist, and you might be able to coax a perfect Manhattan / bespoke cocktail out of him if you spend a sh$tload of moolah on antique maps, OR ask him very very nicely.

Which just goes to show, if you ever visit Geographicus and buy something special there for yourself / someone you love, give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back and accept my sincere congratulations. You get mad props for enriching your life and expanding your horizons by doing something not found on ANY off-the-beaten-path travel guide to NYC, and in the process, out-hipping probably 99.9% of all uber-hip hipsters in Brooklyn ... at least until the word gets out that Geographicus has relocated to...

Maps are discourse (to paraphrase J.B. Harley), and so any antiquarian or collector aspiring to deal with them in a serious manner need to be both competent and willing to undertake a cognitive effort and engage in curiosity-driven discursive exchanges with other members of the endangered species of knowledgeable map aficionados, the Readers. I was pleased to witness and profit from such competence and eagerness in the Geographicus' team in the seemingly mundane circumstances of acquisition of a couple of Mercator's maps of Eastern Europe. The team's openness to truly novel epistemological challenges presented by the study of the early cartography of the lands of the Rus' and their immediate surroundings (such as, e.g., Livonia) in the context of the XVI-XVIII century confrontation between local political and military hegemons, and their unfeigned curiosity in the subject, laden with topical geopolitical connotations, have won them my respect, which I say as a map collector, a critical Reader of maps and a scholar.

Maps are also objects of trade, and it is a very nontrivial thing to be capable of striking a balance between the two worlds: that of mercantile goals and procedures, and that of knowledge and passion, preventing the former from casting a gloomy shadow onto the latter when a punctual collector-antiquarian relation comes to its natural conclusion: the purchase. My experience with Geographicus is highly satisfactory in this respect, too. And that on all levels of relevance: the material one (the artefacts sold to me are in a very good condition, without any `surprise' defects revealed only upon arrival), the economic one (the team displayed a very professional flexibility during the negotiations) and the logistic one (I have never - literally never - had such a smooth and swift shipment of old maps across the Atlantic).

Bravo, Kevin. Bravo, James. Keep...

I have known Kevin for years and have purchased many maps from him. I have also used his restoration services too. I was a fledgling collector when I first met him. he was kind enough to teach me about maps and collecting. I would pester him all the time with questions about maps he had and other maps that I all ready had. He always takes the time to educate and assist.

I continue to purchase from him and if there is anything you need he will try to locate it for you. You need to know who you can trust in this field and Geographicus is one place you can...