venue: Level 10 The National Library, 100 Victoria Street
date | time: Saturday, 30 Oct 2009 | 5.00 pm

This exhibition depicts Singapore as seen through cartographers, geologists, mariners, military generals and town planners. Beginning with the arrival of the British and merchants from the nascent East India Company, to military strategists of Imperial Japan and postwar city planners, “Vignettes in Time” provides snippets of littleknown
histories.

This exhibition features three ‘firsts’. First, this is the largest exhibition of Singapore maps ever. Moreover, more than 80% of the materials on display are original artifacts and not reproductions.

Secondly, the Lim Shao Bin Collection of Japanese Maps & Materials includes the (never before seen) Secret Papers of General Utsunomiya’s Operation Nanpo. Never before has such a large body of Japanese materials relating to Singapore been contextually exhibited.

Third, shown for the very first time in public – anywhere – is a pair of sketches/images of Singapore dating to February and April 1819. These were only recently discovered by Australian researcher Marcus Langdon. They predate ALL known maps and images of Singapore, and can be said to be the “earliest known” images of Singapore to exist!

This exhibition is part of the National Library’s i.remember.sg festival and was opened by Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, RAdm (NS) Lui Tuck Yew.

Don’t miss it!

LIM Chen Sian majored in Archaeology and Finance at Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts and has recently completed his MA research thesis with the Southeast Asian Studies Programme National University of Singapore (NUS). His interest in cartography of Singapore stems from his work in studying and identifying historical
archaeology sites. His research interests includes the archaeology of colonial period Singapore and
identifying the potential archaeologies in Singapore.

Flyer: Vignettes in Time: Singapore Maps and History through the Centuries- a Curator’s Tour by Lim Chen Sian & Mok Ly Yng