The Library of Congress holds an extensive collection of textile maps dated from the 18th to the 21st centuries. These cloth maps cover a wide range of subjects and served various purposes. Some are decorative while others were utilized during war. The maps consist of souvenir bandanas, military maps, event maps, and other types of cartographic materials. This post highlights six maps held in the Library of Congress that have been printed, drawn, and embroidered on fabric.
Featured above is an image of a textile map of Switzerland. The map was originally printed in 1872 by the Swiss cartographer Rudolf Leuzinger. Born in 1826, Leuzinger was known for producing topographical and terrain maps. Gebruder Freuler, the owner of a Swiss textile printing plant, reproduced the map on cloth in 1880. Freuler surrounded the cloth version with a decorative border of edelweiss, the national flower of Switzerland.
In 1791, Pierre Charles L’Enfant was appointed by George Washington to design a plan for the new federal city. The Library of Congress holds both original and facsimile prints of L’Enfant’s plan for Washington D.C. The cloth map below was published in 1990 by the Library of Congress. The map is a replica of L’Enfant’s plan, originally printed in 1792 by the engraver Samuel Hill, who resided in Boston.
A significant number of the cloth maps preserved in the Library relate to wars fought during the 19th and 20th centuries. The next map is a bandana illustrating the Battle of Waterloo. John Slack from Salford, England produced the map. John Slack gained recognition for printing images on cotton during the early 19th century.
An illustration of the capture of Napoleon’s carriage is shown at the bottom of the bandana. On June 18, 1815, Prussian soldiers seized the carriage. Napoleon escaped on horseback; the driver was killed during the capture.
Cloth maps were commonly used during the Civil War because of their durability and ease of folding. Below is a Civil War map showing the region between Atlanta and the Chattahoochee River. This map was drawn in pen and ink on tracing cloth in 1864; it is oriented with south positioned at the top. Waterways, roads, houses, and the names of landowners in Dekalb and Fulton County, Georgia are shown on the map. The name of the person who drew it is not identified. The map is part of the Sherman Collection. The Library of Congress holds 210 maps and three atlases that belonged to General William Tecumseh Sherman. Many of the maps in this collection were used by General Sherman during his Atlanta Campaign.
A significant number of cloth maps in the Library of Congress were made during World War II; these include escape and evasion maps produced by the British War Office’s Secret Intelligence Service, bombing target maps issued by the German General Staff in 1941, and cloth survival charts produced by the United States Army Map Service. This chart of Samar Island, Philippines was made in 1944 to assist pilots and air crews of the U. S. Army Air Forces.
The following is an image of a pictorial story cloth embroidered by a member of the Hmong ethnic group. The Hmong, residing in the mountainous regions of China and Southeast Asia, have embroidered their life stories on cloth for centuries. Post Vietnam War, thousands of Hmong moved from Vietnam to Thailand where they were accommodated in refugee camps. Hmong women produced embroidered story cloths to document the events of their relocation.
In addition to cloth maps, the Library of Congress holds a vast collection of other types of textile materials. Learn more about cloth maps and other textile items at the Library of Congress through the following sources.
Further Reading:
- From the Mountains to the Mekong by Amelia Raines, Geography and Map Division.
- Asia, Texts, and Textiles at the Library of Congress, Part II: Hmong Story Cloths by Joshua Kueh, Asian Division.
- An Embroidered Map of England and Wales by Cynthia Smith, Geography and Map Division.
- Talking Textiles: Marvels of Pre-Columbian America a guest post by Rosemary Ryan, an Archaeological Research Fellow at the Library of Congress.
- Pictures on Textiles by Kristi Finefield, Prints and Photographs Division.
- Threads and Words: Reading Texts through Textiles at the Library of Congress by Charlotte Giles, Asian Division, with contributions from other specialists at the Library of Congress.