For several hundred years, the term "Tartary" - or its Latin version, Tartaria - appeared on European maps, usually floating somewhere between Eastern Europe and China. This post explores the etymology of the place name and the various regions to which it referred.
The Geography & Map Division recently digitized an important set of maps of Austria-Hungary. In this post, we explore these 19th- and early 20th-century maps and the layers of history and language that they contain.
Explore a new search interface for the Sanborn map collection, launched in conjunction with an updated version of the Geography and Map Reading Room website.
Please join Geography and Map Division staff tomorrow for a virtual orientation to our collections and resources! Date: Tuesday, August 8, 2023 Time: 3:00-4:00 pm (Eastern) Location: Zoom Register for this session here! Join us for a virtual orientation that will provide an introduction to the world’s largest map library, this time with a special focus on …
This afternoon, please join Geography and Map Division staff for a virtual orientation focused on maps and genealogy! Date: Tuesday, April 11, 2023 Time: 3:00-4:00 pm (Eastern) Location: Zoom Register for this session here! Reference librarians Amelia Raines and Julie Stoner will present an introduction to the Library of Congress Geography and Map collections. This orientation session …
Pierre Charles L’Enfant did not design Washington in a vacuum. A unique city within American urban planning history, Washington was both informed by its predecessors—mostly European capitals—and an inspiration for its successors, both domestic and foreign. This blog post traces D.C.’s influences from London to Brasilia, using the Library of Congress’s diverse collection of globe-spanning maps to place L’Enfant’s Washington, D.C., within a longer history of city and town planning.
The Harlem Hellfighters, an African-American regiment of the US Army, recently received the Congressional Gold Medal to honor their service during World War I. Explore their story through these maps from the Geography & Map Division.
