Living History: The John Feathers Map Collection (2015) Online

Glen Creason is a map librarian at the Los Angeles Central Library, and in this short film is our guide through a treasure trove of archive maps which were uncovered following the passing of one John Feathers. Doubling 100 years of collecting overnight, the John Feathers collection was astonishing for its diversity, depth and quality of the maps; Creason walks us through the collection and explains why it is important.

Although nothing compared to Creason or Feathers, I do enjoy the access to history that old maps give me; it is something I discovered many years ago when assisting with some Phase 1 environmental work, and was looking for previous land uses, which produced not only some older maps of the area when buildings were minimal and before the city had grown over the area, but also some very interesting maps showing bomb strikes from WW2 – including what type of bomb it was. Anyway, so for me I do have some degree of appreciation for old maps and the stories they can tell. This short film eclipses that appreciation though, and Creason is a very good guide since he is passionate about his work and in particular the maps they recovered from the Feathers estate.

The film uses Creason well for this reason, although it does not totally manage to convey his sense of enthusiasm onto the viewer. While we appreciate the numbers of maps, and the scale of the collection, it is not always easy to get as giddy as Creason, and we don't totally get into the view of the maps as very valuable or fascinating – interesting for sure, but not much more than that. The anecdote at the end of the short tries to counter this with a human face, but it seems a little too late and too little. The pacing of the film doesn't help it either; it is a bit too long and slow for what it does, and although some of the maps are beautiful to look at, just showing them over several minutes again doesn't really make the impact they should.

It is still an interesting documentary short, and it piqued my interest enough to make a mental note that any future visit to LA could specifically include a visit to the maps section, but otherwise it isn't as good as it should have been at sharing the passion and excitement of those responsible for the collection.