Christian Gottleib Reichard (June 6, 1758 - September 11, 1837) was a Weimar based German cartographer active in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was educated at the Lyceum of Schleiz and studied law at the University of Leipzig. Reichard developed an early interest in geography, drawing, and music, which he continued to develop throughout his life. His first cartographic project was a globe made for his children, which attracted the interest Baron Franz Xaver von Zach in Gotha. With Zach's support Reichard delved more fully into cartography, publishing several important works early in the 19th century focusing on the discoveries of Mungo Parke, Rennel, Lander, and Alexander von Humboldt. He also supplied several charts to the Homann Heirs firm. Along with Adolf Stieler and the Perthes publishing companies, he collaborated on the first Stieler's Handlatlas. Published between 1817 and 1823, the first Stieler's Handlatlas proved to be a long lived and influential work that continued to be revised and updated well into the 20th century. In addition, he also published several general and historical atlases on his own account between 1803 and 1824. More by this mapmaker...

Geographisches Institut, Weimar (fl. 1804 - c. 1903) was a German map and globe publishing house and geographical research institute based in Weimar. The organization primarily focused on republishing and improving upon the works of earlier cartographers, including Kitchin, Jefferys, Carey, and others. In general, its publications are known for their fine engraving, attention to detail, historical accuracy, and overall high quality. The firm was founded in 1804 by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (???? - c. 1845) and, on his death, passed to his son Robert Froreip (???? - 1855), then to Louis Denicks of Luneberg, then in 1859 to Voigt & Günther, in 1883 to F. Arnd, from 1890 - 1893 to Julius Kettler, and in 1903 to Max Wedekind. During the institute's height in the early 19th century, most of its cartographic publication was overseen by Carl Ferdinand Weiland (1782 - 1847). The firm also employed the cartographers Franz Xaver von Zach, Adam Christian Gaspari, Heinrich Kiepert, Karl (or Carl) and Adolf Graef, Julius Kettler, Carl Riemer and Karl Christian Bruhns. Weimar was a logical place for a collective like the Geographisches Institut to arise; it was a cultural mecca in the German-speaking world in the late 18th and 19th centuries because of its liberal atmosphere and associations with figures like Schiller, Herder, and, above all, Goethe, who spent most of his adult life in the city. Learn More...