Research Topic
The cartographic development of promotional road maps issued by or for petrol and oil companies, including strategies and designs used for symbology and simplification, from the earliest examples to the era of online mapping.
Profile summary
Ian has had a long career at a senior level in a national charity working to improve the use of energy. In parallel with this, he has long been fascinated by the way in which energy companies market their products, specifically in the retail petroleum sector and, in particular, through the use of maps as a promotional – and often useful – tool. By background a mathematician, having an MA (Oxon), and a chartered accountant and chartered environmentalist, Ian will bring a diverse range of skills to his academic research.
Research outline
As part of the theme of Maps and Society, Ian’s research will investigate the design choices made for promotional road maps issued by or for petrol and oil companies, including when, how, why and which points of interest, such as service station locations, have been depicted on these maps. It will start with examples from the 1920s and 1930s and trace development through to the demise of paper maps and introduction of online mapping. Global in scope, with “locator maps” known from over 70 countries, it will investigate why these were common in some markets yet absent in others. It will also identify the extent to which companies followed the lead of their cartographers or publishers, as opposed to developing their own house style or standard approach across different national markets. From this, it will consider if such maps have contributed to cartographic standardisation, and whether lessons from paper maps have flowed through to online mapping. Finally, it will assess whether the maps benefited customers as much as the companies or cartographers who commissioned them.
External activities
Ian is a member of the British Cartographic Society, the Energy Institute, the Charles Close Society and a Board Member (and assistant webmaster) for the Road Maps Collectors Association (USA). He has had articles published in peer-reviewed journals, as well as having been a regular contributor to hobbyist magazines internationally such as Check the Oil! (USA), The Legend (USA), Route Nostalgie (France) and the ACCA Magazine (Australia). Ian’s non-academic website (petrolmaps) has over 2,000 images – mainly of road map covers – of European and North African maps. Away from maps, he chairs Working Group 10 of the International Standards Organization Technical Committee TC-301 on energy savings in organizations. Ian relaxes by running with maps (orienteering).
Supervisory team
Publications
Ritson, N.H., Byrne, I.W. and Cohen, D.A., 2018. UK Petrol Retailing - Competitive Rivalry and the Decline of the Oil Majors in the 20th Century, In: Craig, J. et al (ed) History of the European Oil & Gas Industry, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 465 25-38
Ritson, N.H., Byrne, I.W. and Cohen, D.A., 2017. A Dixonian analysis of petrol retailing in the UK–1880-2000. The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, pp.1-17
Ronde, H., Ranne, A., Peirano, E., Byrne, I. and Le Duc, H. 2013. Integrated Renewable Energy Solutions for Aquaculture Processing—Enerfish. Journal of Energy and Power Engineering, 7 pp. 259-265
Selected conference papers
Byrne, I.W., 2019, Collectors as Curators: Can Collectors Keep Maps That Libraries Don't Want?, In: British Cartographic Society Conference, 11 September 2019, Southampton
Byrne, I., and N. H. Ritson. 2012. A History of UK Petrol Retailing – Dynamism vs. Oligarchy. Centre for the History of Retailing and Distribution conference on Retailing and Distribution History. University of Wolverhampton, UK
Hiegl, W., Janssen R., Helm, P., Byrne, I. and others, 2009, The Pellets @las Project – A Comprehensive European Pellet Market Overview, 17th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, Hamburg, Germany
Away from maps, he chairs BSI SES/1/7 on Greenhouse gas management and related activities; is co-convenor of the International Standards Organization TC-301 WG14 on energy management in multiple organizations; and is a Council Member of the Institution of Environmental Sciences.