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By: John Hessler
Writing is a strange invention. One might suppose that its emergence could not fail to bring profound changes in the conditions of human existence… –Claude Levi-Strauss, Tristes Tropiques Time and money are spent in collecting the remains …
Posted in: Worlds Revealed
By: John Hessler
Conference Celebrating the 500th Anniversary of Martin Waldseemüller’s 1516 Carta Marina. Keynote address by award winning author and historian of science Dava Sobel. A two-day conference hosted by the Geography and Map Division at the Library of Congress will celebrate the 500th anniversary of Martin Waldseemüller’s Carta Marina, one of the great masterpieces of Renaissance …
Posted in: Worlds Revealed
By: John Hessler
The following is a guest post by Helena Arose, Junior Fellow in the Geography and Map Division, who worked with the Pre-Columbian objects of the Jay I. Kislak Collection of the Archaeology and History of the Early Americas during the summer of 2016. Helena has done fieldwork on Cyprus and is currently an archaeology student …
Posted in: Worlds Revealed
By: John Hessler
The Jay I. Kislak Collection of the Archaeology and History of the Early Americas became part of the Geography and Map Division several years ago and contains Pre-Columbian archaeological objects, maps, like Waldseemüller’s famous 1516 Carta Marina, and manuscripts and rare books relating to the earliest history of America. The dates of the collection span …
Posted in: Worlds Revealed
By: John Hessler
Today’s guest post was written by Graham Atkinson, a Research Volunteer in the Geography and Map Division, who works with the Pre-Columbian objects in the Jay I. Kislak Collections. He received his doctorate in mathematics from Oxford University, and has spent most of his career applying mathematical and statistical techniques to health care. Graham also …
Posted in: Worlds Revealed
By: John Hessler
The Library of Congress’ Geography and Map Division is home to a large collection of Pre-Columbian archaeological artifacts donated by the collector Jay I. Kislak, many of which are on display as part of the Exploring the Early Americas Exhibit in the Thomas Jefferson Building here in Washington, DC. The artifacts that make up the …
Posted in: Worlds Revealed
By: John Hessler
In the cool summer of 1901, a Jesuit priest named Joseph Fischer was searching through the small libraries found in the country houses and ancient castles of the old noble families that dot the German hinterlands. One day, in the tower of one of those castles, tucked deep into the forest outside the tiny village of Wolfegg, he happened upon a book that …
Posted in: Worlds Revealed