Welcome
to Vast Compass

Thank you for stopping by.
We’re grateful to connect!

About Mark and Allen

Currently in our Etsy shop

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Giza Plateau—Cairo, Egypt 

Our gear

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Amarantos Cape—Skopelos, Greece. 

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le Marais—Paris, France. 

Library highlights

Guidebooks are certainly part of the equation. There are also the maps, atlases, apps, city guides, and blogs we read.

Allen and I are Francophiles, sans aucun doute (without doubt), which explains the above collection of books in our library about our favorite country. Now imagine just how many books in our library aren’t about France…

…including our section on Italy, shown above. Other countries, regions, and topics having an outsize presence in the stacks include Scandinavia, the Nordics, Greece and the Med, Egypt, Japan, New York City, botanical gardens, cathedrals, chateaux, ruins, art history, and architecture from Alvar Aalto to Zaha Hadid.

Read more about our research library

Our production process

It’s quite a journey from 4’x6’ master sheets of paper to a finished card, ready to sign, seal, and deliver. All along the way we strive to keep the production line as sustainable as possible, leaving as small an eco footprint as we can, from responsible paper sourcing and low-impact consumables, to recycled ink packs, minimal product packaging, and smart shipping materials.

Read more about our production process

Founded in 1873, Neenah Paper is internationally recognized as a world-class manufacturer of premium paper. They produce Vast Compass’ cardstock and envelopes.

Putting it all together

Please note the photocard prints do not have a white watermark. They arrive as shown in the video clip (r.).

It all comes together with a photograph on the front with the destination printed below and hand-signed by Mark. On the back is the essay, quotation, product information, and a link to stay in touch.

Visit our Etsy shop

Currently in our Etsy shop

People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains,
at the huge waves of the seas,
at the long course of the rivers,
at the vast compass of the ocean,
at the circular motion of the stars…

…and yet they pass by themselves without wondering.

—St. Augustine

Unless otherwise noted, all images are copyright © Vast Compass, 2025.

Featured blog posts

Visit our blog
Blog
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Let’s (re)connect the world
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From Port Said, to Say what?
From Port Said, to Say what?

Gustave Eiffel was a leading innovator in iron, but one of his highest-profile projects is visible only from the inside—his studio created the armature for the Statue of Liberty rising over New York City Harbor. Its internal truss framing and rivets are familiar from the Eiffel Tower’s design with parts for both monuments being forged in the same workshop.

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A second iron age
A second iron age

By the time of 1889’s Exposition Universelle, engineering entrepreneur Gustave Eiffel headed a highly successful eponymous business with increasingly global reach. His engineering know-how and depth of experience made wrought iron ascendant in an age during which architects and builders were pivoting away from wood and stone, but when concrete was not yet re-perfected.

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So many parts
So many parts

Was the Eiffel Tower safe, likely to collapse of its own weight, blow over in a storm, or sink, or tilt? Would its shade destroy gardens? Would its presence blight not only the skyline, but also destroy property values? And then there were the aesthetes in high dudgeon. There was a fair bit of drama swirling around the Eiffel Tower from the very beginning.

Read more →
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