Proto-Germany

Germany, as a concept, is relatively new.  Prior to the Treaty of Versailles, signed in 1871, "Germany" didn't exist as a country.  It was a cultural group, spread over many countries, principalities, kingdoms, bishoprics, and even parts of an empire.  Inspired by N.K. Jemison's "The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms", I wanted to draw a map of the countries that would eventually become Germany.  Drawn from a wide variety of maps, I also included the different Duchy's of France, and the kingdoms of Italy. The only true demarkation of modern countries is a heavier border. The corner pieces are drawn with an eye toward steampunk clocks and watches.The original is ink on watercolor paper, 22 x 30.  Prints are available true to size, but also scaled down for ease of framing.

Note: If printed in smaller sizes, words may not be readable.

I regretted this idea so many times.  Most maps take about 40 hours of work, from initial idea to finished product.  This includes research, pencil design, inking, and then final detail work.  This one took 60 hours just to pencil in. Intially, I was excited to have a legitimate reason to use an old fancy gothic font.  Several days in, I realized that I needed to write "Ravensburg" in fancy gothic font on a country that takes up less space than my pinky nail. Did you know that there is a lower limit to smallness of manufactured pen size?