Maps of Iceland tells the story of how Iceland appeared on printed maps. The starting date is 1482 when the country appeared in the Ulm publication of Ptolemy’s Geographica. The book traces the increase in interest and corresponding knowledge about Iceland and the far North, a region which at the time was very muc h associated with mystique and danger.

It tells of the great maps of the Dutch Golden Age of Mapmaking and the different ways in how the country was depicted, using the scientific methods of mapping based on accurate measurements. The narrative draws to a close around 1850, with the advent of the first modern detailed map of Iceland.