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Posted by: Ryan Moore
At 11 am on November 11, 1918, the long and terrible fighting that was known as the Great War ended. The final hour of the final day of World War I, as it is known today, was documented by the United States Army on a large 36″ x 32″ map sheet. The mapmakers used a …
Posted in: Military History
Posted by: Ryan Moore
The signature of the American botanist who helped bring the famous Japanese cherry blossom trees to the United States was discovered by this author on a 1901 map of Japan. David Fairchild (1869-1954) traveled the world on behalf of the U.S. government and introduced more than 200,000 varieties of crops and plants to this country. …
Posted in: Asian History
Posted by: Ryan Moore
The Geography and Map Division has processed the map collection of an American vice admiral who served in both Europe and the Pacific during World War II. The Morton L. Deyo World War II map collection consists of maps related to Deyo’s role as a naval task force commander, and these once secret materials show …
Posted in: Biography, Military History
Posted by: Ryan Moore
The following post is by Anna Balaguer, a Junior Fellow at the Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division. This summer, I have the opportunity to participate in the Library of Congress Junior Fellows program, working in the Geography and Map Division. I am working with cartographic specialist Ryan Moore to process the Hauslab-Liechtenstein Map …
Posted in: Guest Posts
Posted by: Ryan Moore
The Orange Free State and the Transvaal (officially the South African Republic) were independent countries in southern Africa in the 19th century established largely by Dutch/Afrikaans-speaking settlers known as the Boers (Boer translates to “farmer” in Dutch). Occupying areas in what is today South Africa, the Boers of the 19th century were pastoral and religiously-oriented, …
Posted in: African History, Borders, Military History
Posted by: Ryan Moore
Cartographic depictions of Seoul, the present-day capital of South Korea, during the time of the Japanese occupation of Korea are not often seen and the surviving artifacts a bit rare. The period of Japanese influence and control over Korea lasted from 1905 until 1945. It began with a protectorate that escalated into a full-scale colony …
Posted in: Asian History, City Histories, Military History
Posted by: Ryan Moore
The former capital of Pakistan, Karachi is the most populous city in the country and the third most populous in the world. Before it was Karachi, the place was called Kolachi, a small village on the Arabian Sea. Kolachi was the surname of the founding fisher-woman, Lady Kolachi, according to local lore. The transformation from …
Posted in: 19th century cartography, 20th century cartography, City Histories
Posted by: Ryan Moore
Hue is a city in central Vietnam, which most Americans may know from the 1968 Battle of Hue, one of the longest and bloodiest battles in the Vietnam War. However, less is known about America’s involvement with the city during World War II. This blog post will present an American military intelligence map from each …
Posted in: Asian History, Military History
Posted by: Ryan Moore
The “strip maps” published by the Automobile Club of Southern California are considered a collector’s item in some circles of map enthusiasts. Strip maps once helped drivers navigate major routes and often included a list of “approved” hotels, restaurants, and auto repair stations. Their name likely stems from the narrow rectangular paper strip upon which …
Posted in: 20th century cartography, American History