What is a Cartifact?

If you’ve ever perused map and cartography related listings with antique dealers, you may have seen the term “cartifact” bandied about (or cartefact for British English spellers).

The term “cartifact” is not word you will see defined in a dictionary (at least not yet). It’s a term that is mostly used in the antique and map collecting realm.

Cartifact is a portmanteau of two words: cartography and artifact. Artifact (or artefact in British English) is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary simply as “an object made by a human being.” Cartifact blends the “cart” in cartography with “artifact” to produce “cartifact” for American English spellers and “cartefact” for British English spellers.

Therefore, a cartifact is an object containing a map that is used primarily for design rather than as a source of information.