This has to be one of the most unusual cartographic items we have come across here at Old World Auctions: a map of the Kodiak Archipelago burned into a dried mushroom cap through a painstaking pyrographic engraving technique. Credited to a Kodiak-based artist named B. Burch and dated [19]87, this one-of-a-kind work is a pyrographic engraving depicting the Kodiak Archipelago from Shuyak Island south to the Trinity Islands. The city of Kodiak, Old Harbor, Karluk Lake, and several bays and capes are identified. The title curves along the edge of the cap, and there is a nicely rendered compass rose. Given that bracket or shelf fungi is not the most even work surface, the level of craftsmanship here is beyond impressive. Even the smaller islands are outlined with surprising intricacy, accuracy, and care. Eye hooks and a hanging wire are fastened to bark that appears to have been attached to the underside of the mushroom for additional stability. A truly special work of cartographic folk art.

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Condition: B+

A fine, perfectly legible engraving on a mushroom surface with light staining and soiling (it is, after all, a mushroom). Well preserved, with a sturdy, wood-like consistency on the underside and a velvety, leathery texture to the top of the cap.