“Niagara Falls Canada Fun Finder's Guide” print by Elke Bzdurreck (1980)

While it's a joy to show you folks all kinds of hidden cartographic gems, it's even more of a joy for me to get in touch with some of the makers of these maps and get to know them. Elke Bzdurreck made this one, and she currently lives in a beautiful home outside of Brockville, Ontario, where she paints daily and maintains a wonderful website of her neo-psychedelic geometric art and illustration. You can see it right here.  

In 1970 she graduated from the Fachhochschule für Kunst & Design in Cologne, Germany, made her way to Canada, and got right to work as an artist and illustrator in Toronto. In 1980 she made this "Fun Finder's Guide" to Niagara Falls, and when she moved out to the Outaouais a few years later, she started to centre her work around the Ottawa art scene. Along the way, she made a pictorial map of the Municipality of Pontiac and was one of the first exhibitors at the OAG Annex.

All along, she's hosted art shows at her home and studio, always trying to find ways to get appreciative eyes on her work and the work of others. 

About this map: Elke originally drew it for the newly-opened Maple Leaf Village amusement park, a thing that was open from 1979 to 1992 and is visible just below and to the right of the map's centre. You can see the Horseshoe Falls near bottom right, the Welland Canal at left and the famous Floral Clock just above and to the right of centre. Also: if you're interested in an original copy of this map, rather than a reproduction, drop me a line and I'll put you and Elke in touch. She has a few copies safely stowed in her archives and they await serious collectors. 

A reproduction available at 12x16" or 18x24" on Epson Enhanced Matte 192 gsm paper printed with Epson UltraChrome XD2 archival ink. Sold in an open edition, unframed. Reproduced with the permission of Elke Bzdurreck.