Margaret Whiting Spilhaus (September 27, 1889 - July 7, 1981), né Phyllis Margaret Whiting, was a British South Africa author, illustrator, geographer, and historian active during the interwar period in the first half of the 20th century. Margaret was born South London. Her father died tragically in 1895, putting her family in difficult circumstances and forcing her into the care of various relatives around London - a story described in her semi-autobiographical work, Doorstep Baby. When her mother remarried in 1902, her family moved to Cape Town South Africa - Margaret herself following in 1904. She married South African - German merchant Ludolph Spilhaus (1876 - 1972) in 1809, taking his name. In cartographic circles, Spilhaus is known for a series of 5 large-format pictorial maps published between 1927 and 1943. These are Africa (1921 - 1925), Australia (c. 1927), North America (1931), South America (1938), and Pan Africa (1943). Her maps were designed for educational purposes, to delight and engage children, as well as advocate her political idealism. She also wrote books on Geography and the significance of maps, historical accounts, and children's books. Spilhaus died in South Africa in July of 1981. More by this mapmaker...

George Philip (1800 - 1882) was a map publisher and cartographer active in the mid to late-19th century. Philip was born into a Calvinst family in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Around 1819 he apprenticed himself to William Grapel, a Liverpool printer and bookseller. Fifteen years later, in 1834, Philip founded his own Liverpool book and map firm. Philip's earliest cartographic ventures were mostly educational material issued in tandem with John Bartholomew Sr., August Petermann, and William Hughes. In 1848, Philip admitted his son, George Philip Jr. (1823 - 1902) into the firm, renaming it George Philip and Son Ltd. George Philip Jr. ran the firm until his death in 1902, by which time it had developed into a major publishing concern. His successors established the London Geographical Institute, a factory where they embraced modern printing techniques to produce thousands of economical and high quality maps. In April 1988, George Philip & Son was acquired by Octopus Publishing, a branch of Reed International. Nonetheless, today the firm trades and publishes to this day as George Philip and Son. Learn More...