Kevin Sheehan
Kevin Sheehan is an artist-cartographer and owner of Manuscript Maps. From his studio in East Yorkshire (and formerly in Durham) Kevin creates detailed, fascinating, and gorgeous maps of a variety of interesting subjects. All of Kevin’s maps are drawn by hand using dip-pens and ink with a variety of illustrative and calligraphy nibs. From research and planning sketches to completion, his maps can take months to finish, but the results are worth the time.
Manuscript Maps began as a hobby business in 2014 when Kevin completed his doctorate in the history of cartography at Durham University, but as of 2022 creating maps is Kevin’s full-time occupation.
Kevin’s style is inspired by the cartography from centuries past, for which aesthetics were as important as geography. His maps include decorative compass roses, cartouches with interesting information, illustrative vignettes, and even the odd sea monster. From across the room, Kevin’s maps might appear like antiques, but closer inspection reveals how much research went into creating both a modern accurate map that is also visually beautiful.
Kevin’s cartography has been featured in a number of publications: His ‘Gin Map of Great Britain and Ireland’ was featured in Food & Drink Infographics (Tachen, 2018); his Paris Map was chosen amongst hundreds of entrants to be featured in the Atlas of Design vol. 5, (NACIS, 2020); and most recently his Map of The Moon was featured in ‘Les 20 plus belles cartes du monde’ (Autremont, 2023).
All of Kevin’s maps are giclée printed with pigment inks onto high-quality textured paper. Prints are limited edition, signed, numbered, and dated.
