This post is a compilation of the Places in History series written by G&M staff in 2011 and 2016, which explores maps produced during the Civil War, their creation, and the geography they depict. Previous blog posts based on that series can be seen under Places in Civil War History. Mapping Slavery According to the 1860 …
In 1528 Venetian cartographer, miniaturist, and editor Benedetto Bordone published Libro di Benedetto Bordone : nel qual si ragiona de tutte l’isole del mondo, con li lor nomi antichi & moderni, historie, fauole, & modi del loro uiuere, & in qual parte del mare stanno, & in qual parallelo & clima giacciono (Book of Benedetto …
This is a guest post by Geography and Map Division summer intern, Wayne Hastings, who worked on processing and housing the John Parr Snyder Collection. Imagine this. During the summer of 1972, the United States was in the midst of one of the most wildly impressive eras of technological and scientific development – the Space …
On the vault shelves of the Geography and Map Division between John Arrowsmith’s London Atlas of Universal Geography (1858) and a 19th century French jigsaw-puzzle map of the world made of wood, Atlas geographique, lies a 50 x 31 centimeter nondescript atlas in green binding. The hunter green lusterless cover may seem unremarkable, but open …
This blog posts provides an introduction to some early maps produced from images captured by ERTS-1 (later known as Landsat I), the world's first earth-observing satellite.
The story of the naming of America has been told before – not surprisingly considering the object central to the story, Martin Waldseemüller’s 1507 world map, is one of the most important treasures in the Geography and Map Division. The name was bestowed by the mapmaker to show his support for Amerigo Vespucci’s argument that …
A few weeks ago, I had the wonderful opportunity, thanks to generous funding from the Philip Lee Phillips Society and the Library of Congress Professional Association, to attend the Material Foundations of Map History, 1450-1900, course held by the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia. The course was taught by Matthew Edney, Osher …
