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Cahill 1909

Evolution of the Dymaxion Map:
An Illustrated Tour and Critique
Part 4

by Gene Keyes
2009-06-15

Summary: I love Bucky, but Cahill's map is a lot better. Here's how.

CONTENTS
Click inside boxes to open other sections in separate windows.

1) Introduction and Background Notes	2) 1943: Cubo-Octahedron, Split Continents	3) 1944: Cubo-Octahedron, Whole Continents
4) 1946: The Dymaxion Map Patent	5) 1954 Icosahedron, Whole Continents	6) 1967 ff: Later Editions and World Game Versions
7) 1995 ff Dymaxion Maps on the Internet	8) Notes on Scaling Dymaxion Maps	9) Critique: Dymaxion Map Compared to Cahill

Buckminster Fuller's 1946 Cartography Patent
Enlarged and presented by Gene Keyes in two formats

Another frequent misstatement by Fuller et al is that this was the first American patent for a map projection; but Cahill had patented the octhedral projection in 1913. Nevertheless, the Fuller patent is seminal in its own right, being a forerunner to his invention of the geodesic dome.

I am reproducing this one in two formats: 1) the pdf itself directly on this website, without the Flash and clutter of Google Patent Search; 2) Jpegs enlarged to 125% of the pdf's hard-to-read fine print;  (You might be right to assume that I am not a fan of pdf, and not a fan of tiny print, whether on paper or computer screens. These easier-to-read versions are presented with my compliments, even though I have some bones to pick with the Dymaxion map.)

Though illustrating the cubo-octahedron, Fuller had written the patent to apply to other polyhedra, such as the icosahedron. However, he rejected that 20-facet figure until 1954, when his "Raleigh" edition of the Dymaxion map appeared in its now familiar form.

Go to Part 5
1954: The Third Dymaxion Map:
Icosahedron with Whole Continents
(The Raleigh Edition)