Antique maps are not
like CD's or other mass-manufactured goods, for which price is the only
decisive factor, once you have an idea what you like to buy. Antique maps are
unique pieces of art that have survived for many hundreds of years. No such map
is physically the same as the next one, even if we are talking about prints
from the same copperplate or woodblock. Therefore, you would like to inspect a
map personally before you buy it, and we, at Cartographica Neerlandica, have
the conviction that you, as a potential client, deserve to have the opportunity
do just that. We only want satisfied clients, who have the chance to see before
they buy, and who come back to us confidently because they like the
price/quality relationship of our maps, the information we provide about our
stock, and the ordering procedure we follow. A unique product deserves
confidence and a personalised approach. That is the goal we aim at. Of course,
to see maps in order to have the opportunity to decide whether you want to buy
them or not, you can visit us. We are located in Bilthoven, the Netherlands, a suburb of Utrecht,
about 45 train- or car-minutes away from Amsterdam
and Amsterdam
airport. We gladly pick you up from Bilthoven railway station. Appointment by
telephone is necessary for that, as we work from closed premises. However, if
you do not have the chance to visit us, as is the case for most of our clients,
we have developed the following five-step procedure for mail-ordering maps:
If you find a map in our stocklist that you would like to know
more about, send us:
- an
e-mail: info@orteliusmaps.com,
or
- a
fax: +31-30-2203326, or
- a
letter: Marcel and Deborah Van den Broecke,
Cartographica Neerlandica,
Soestdijkseweg 101
3721 AA Bilthoven
The Netherlands, or
- give
us a call: +31-30-2202396.
In your message, you
can ask us to send you:
- a
(photo-)scan (about 50 KB) or a high resolution digital jpg image of about
1 MB by e-mail of the map of your interest, and a 200 word description,
also by Email. Our descriptions contain: title, dimensions of the image,
margins and total sheet size in mm, date, bibliographical references,
description of geographical image, description of color, (old or modern,
if colored), possible flaws in plate area, margins and on verso, overall
quality and price, or
- a
high resolution photograph and description by regular
"snail-mail" (for which we need your postal address) or,
- a
photograph and description by fax (for which we need your fax number).
You can also download
low resolution or high resolution (hires) images as well as all individual map
descriptions. On the basis of this information you can assess whether you would
like to see the map itself. If the answer is no, that ends our contacts for the
time being. Suppose the answer is yes, then:
- If
you are a new client, send us a cheque (no credit cards) of the amount
specified in the description in Euros (see www.xe.com/ucc/ to see the current
value of the Euro against other currencies) plus air mail freight costs
(about 26 Euro per package outside Europe, 13 Euro within Europe) or, more
conventiently, send us a cheque in your own currency, equivalent to our
price in Euro plus freight costs. Make your cheque out to M. Van den
Broecke. As soon as we receive your cheque, we will send you the map,
safely packed in a carton tube, by registered air mail. However, We
will not cash your cheque.
- Alternatively,
you can ask your bank to transfer money to our bank. Our bank is
MeesPierson, POBox
370, 3000AJ Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
IBAN: NL77 FTSB 0212 5422 65; BIC
FTSBNL2R . We will refund you fully if you do not like the map.
- If
you have bought from us before, and want to inspect a map which may be of
interest to you, there is no need to send a cheque. Just indicate which
map you want to receive on approval, and we will send it with invoice.
After having received
and inspected the map, you decide within five days whether you would like to
keep it.
- If
you do like to keep it, and you have already sent us your cheque, being a
new client, notify us that you are satisfied with the map, and we will
cash your cheque.
- If
you like to keep the map, and have received it on approval basis because
you bought from us before, then send us your cheque according to the
enclosed invoice, and we will cash it.
- If
you do not like the map for whatever reason (which you need not communicate
to us), just return the map in its original carton tube by registered air
mail and we will destroy or return your cheque, as you wish, upon receipt
of the map you returned. If you paid by bank transfer, we will return the
money to you by bank transfer as well.
This personalised
procedure guarantees that you do not run the risk of being stuck with a map you
did not really want, since you can return whatever we sent you, no questions
asked. On the other hand, we do not run the risk of sending a map to a new
client without ever receiving payment for it, since we ask new clients for a cheque
or a money transfer first. In this way, we will both be happy and satisfied,
and you may want to buy from us again, joining our crowd of satisfied clients
that can request us to send any material on approval basis.
If you have any
further questions about this procedure, please let us know.
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For comments or
questions concerning this page, please send an email to info@orteliusmaps.com.