Open Letter to David Buisseret

November, 2010

Below is an open letter to Dr. David Buisseret (Society for the History of Discovery) regarding his frivolous dismissal of the Marquette Map Hoax, perhaps the most audacious fraud/fake/forgery in North American Cartography. My communications with Dr. Buisseret, of longstanding and up to quite recently, are omitted to spare the reader. Said a Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter,

"In my evaluation, and in that of some distinguished experts, his pursuit of historical truth has resulted in some very unusual discoveries. They will merit some basic revisions in the historical record. Carl and I have communicated numerous times about this research, by phone, email, and in person. Between assignments for the Chicago Tribune, I've been carefully reviewing 17 nth century documents and what later historians have had to say about them - at times in consultation with Professor Weber. Using his core work in this area, my intention is to publish a piece about French colonial America, inquiring into some of the inaccuracies that have long been considered established fact regarding the foundational histories of the regions of the Mississippi Valley, the Illinois Valley and the Chicago area. " William Mullen, Tribune Staff Writer.

Novermber 3, 2010. There was a loss of enthusiam on this from Mr. Mullen: "The field you are in is so full of academic intrigue and back-stabbing, so rife with charges, counter-charges and ad hominem attacks that I wearied of trying to sort through it."

CCs:

Tony Campbell (Map Librarian, retired, British Library, London)
David Y. Allen (Map Librarian, emeritus, at Stony Brook University)
Jeremy Pool (Boston Map Society)
Joseph Garver (Harvard Library Map Curator)
Robert W. Karrow (Newberry Library Map Curator)
Russell Lewis (Executive Vice President and Chief Historian, Chicago History Museum)
James R. Akerman (Director, Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography, Newberry Library)
William Mullen ( Chicago Tribune Reporter)
Randy Boswell (CanWest News Service)
Raymond Craib (Associate Professor of History, Cornell University)
Magali Carrera (Chancellor Professor of Art History, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth)
Lina del Castillo (Assistant Professor of History, Iowa State University)
Jordana Dym (Associate Professor of History, Skidmore College)
Tom Bassett (Professor of Geography, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Jamie McGowan (Assistant Director, Central African Studies; Ph.D. candidate, Geography, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Sumathi Ramaswamy (Professor of History, Duke University)
Karen Culcasi (Assistant Professor of Geography, West Virginia University)

Dear David,

I would have liked to have had received a reasoned critique from you, or an acknowledgment on your part of a suspension of judgment pending further information. Your "short answer," of the last ten months—you did not find my presentation "very convincing."

I've given enough time, effort, and expense over the last ten years to merit at least a few sentences to amplify the curt "not very convincing." I'm sure you can understand why one might expect a little more.

Five years ago I gave my presentation on the Marquette Map Hoax to the Chicago Map Society. You were there. Afterward, we went out to dinner. You sat directly across the table from me. You asked me very specifically to make a presentation to your group, The Society for the History of Discoveries, which was to hold its convention in Chicago the following year. What of the incongruity of you asking me to make a presentation about this map—a presentation you don't find convincing?

A few weeks ago you suggested I submit my work to a local journal. The name of it slipped your mind. This slippage supports my sentiment in my handout I gave to everyone at the Chicago Map Society this past June, asserting that my ideas are treated frivolously.

Years ago Tony Campbell, when I asked him where I might publish my Marquette Map Hoax work, told me that having it on my web site is essentially publishing it. For more than five years Campbell has had "Marquette map," with a question mark after it, on his web page of maps that are possibly or definitely inauthentic.

The shape of the Illinois River, too accurately shaped by 140 years, is the smoking gun.

The map plays a foundation role in the history of Chicago. Chicago Map Society members and Chicagoans in general would certainly have more than a passing interest in, perhaps even fun with, this historical fakery

You might like to know that in your Mapping the French in North America , neglecting nearly all the maps of the discovery and exploration of the heartland of North America in the late-mid 17th century, what you propose is a map associated with the Marquette and Jolliet expedition (p. 19), and "first drawn in 1673" is not correct. Its base map is the Thèvenot map, published in 1681, itself based on the Manitoumie Map.*

Also, you might like to know that in your Historic Illinois From the Air , the map popularly attributed to Jolliet, and accepted by you as such (I'd like to point out, "discovered" in about 1880!), is arguably a fake. David Allen raised questions with me about the authenticity of this map five years ago. I did not at the time tell him that I concurred in raising authenticity questions. The main problem is the appearance on the map of the river at the southeast of Lake Michigan.

Regards,

Carl