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Map of Central Asia showing Afghanistan and Her Relation to British and Russian Territories in 1885.

Geography and Map Virtual Orientation: The Boundaries of Afghanistan during the Great Game

Posted by: Carissa Pastuch

Please join us for the fourth session in a new series of virtual orientations from the Geography and Map Division! Date: Tuesday, December 13th, 2022 Time: 3:00–4:00 pm (Eastern) Location: Zoom Reference specialist Cynthia Smith and librarian Carissa Pastuch will present an introduction to the maps housed at the Library of Congress. This orientation will …

3-D map made of Siberian driftwood and sealskin showing the various islands and inlets of the Crown Prince Islands.

Mapping Disko Bay

Posted by: Carissa Pastuch

This is a guest post by Diane Schug-O’Neill, Digital Conversion Coordinator, in the Geography and Map Division. In 1925, Silas Sandgreen was commissioned by the Library of Congress to create a map of Disko Bugt (also seen as Disko Bay), Greenland. Disko Bay is a large bay located on the western coast of Greenland, along …

This is an engraved hand-colored map or view-plan by Baptista Boazio that depicts Sir Francis Drake's attack on Saint Augustine on May 28-29, 1586.

Virtual Orientation to the Geography and Map Division

Posted by: Carissa Pastuch

Please join us for the third session in a new series of virtual orientations from the Geography and Map Division! Date: Tuesday, October 11th, 2022 Time: 3:00-4:00 pm (Eastern) Location: Zoom Register for this session here! Reference librarians Carissa Pastuch and Amelia Raines will present an introduction to the collections of the Geography and Map Division at …

The earliest extant plan of Washington DC, known as "The L'Enfant Plan" with annotations of editorial changes by Thomas Jefferson.

Francophone Folly in the Capital City

Posted by: Carissa Pastuch

Last Monday Americans gathered again after a two-year hiatus to celebrate America’s independence from Great Britain. Flags and fireworks flew over our nation’s capital to mark the anniversary of when the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776), which announced the colonies’ separation from Great Britain, and precipitated the American …

Initial design plan for landscape architecture of Chicago South Park Chicago.

Chicago’s South Park by Fredrick Law Olmsted

Posted by: Carissa Pastuch

During the month of April, the Library of Congress celebrated the bicentennial of the birth of Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903), farmer, journalist, publisher, conservationist, and the first American landscape architect, who designed the grounds surrounding the U.S. Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial, and many other notable public and private green spaces. To celebrate, the Great Hall …

Map of archeological sites in Iraq

The Matron of Mesopotamian Antiquities

Posted by: Carissa Pastuch

Gertrude Lowthian Bell (1868–1926) was a British archaeologist, explorer, and diplomat. Proficient in French, German, Hebrew, Persian, and Arabic, and an avid reader and writer, she traveled widely and was able to engage with native populations because of her ability to communicate in many languages and openness to experiencing unfamiliar traditions. She found the Middle …

Hand-drawn and beautifully colored map of Sicily with South towards the top.

Al-Idrisi’s Masterpiece of Medieval Geography

Posted by: Carissa Pastuch

German archeologist and historian Konrad Miller’s 1928 recreation of Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Idrisi’s (also al-Sharif al-Idrisi; circa 1100–66) Tabula Rogeriana, titled Weltkarte des Idrisi vom Jahr, Charta Rogeriana, has been explored in previous blog posts by both my colleague and section head. In this post, I highlight the oldest known copy of al-Idrisi’s original geographical work …