Joyce’s letter of 12 September 1904 provides direct evidence a) that Joyce and Nora spent time together looking at a map of some kind; b) that ‘the map’ was in Nora’s possession at least some of the time in September 1904; c) that Joyce and Nora actively used ‘the map’ together to find places. If ‘the map’ was actually the Atlas they could have made some of its marks together.

Joyce wrote to Nora on September 12, 1904, addressed from ‘The Tower, Sandycove’, mainly about the bad weather but also asking: ‘Have you found that place on the map?’

It has been suggested (private communication) that Joyce’s letter referred to a plan for Nora Barnacle to visit Joyce at Sandycove one day. The ’place on the map’ would have been the Tower itself. But firstly, it seems unlikely that Nora would choose to make a lengthy journey to a place inhabited by a group of licentious young men. It could easily have had bad consequences for her. Secondly, Joyce of all people, writing from the Tower, would have written ‘this place’ rather than ‘that place’.

Another objection is that Joyce refers to ‘the map’, not ‘the Atlas’ or ‘the book of maps’. But as discussed below, in the ‘Atlas in view’ section, Joyce must have been anxious not to get into trouble for having removed the Atlas. Despite passages which clearly relate to atlases, the word atlas is mentioned only once in Ulysses.