Mapping the Imaginary

Fantasy maps and a map reveal for The Bond trilogy

a 1524 map of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán, from The Aztec World by Elizabeth Hill Boone

Map-makers have always drawn with their imaginations even when they thought they were making factual representations. Recently, I came across this detailed depiction of Tenochtitlán, the Aztec empire’s capital, published anonymously on Nuremberg in 1524 and featured in Elizabeth Hill Boone ’s The Aztec World. Some elements are somewhat…