Top of page
Posted by: Abraham Parrish
A background of cartographer Dr. John Mitchell and how he produced one of the most significant maps of North America in the 18th century.
Posted in: 18th century cartography, American History
Posted by: Carissa Pastuch
I recently saw a public library Instagram reel that explained the breakdown of an entire call number of a book—using the Dewey Decimal System. The video pointed out that the demystification of these call number codes can be incredibly helpful to our users. If users can de-code the sequence, they can unlock how to find, …
Posted in: Reference Tools
Posted by: Amelia Raines
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.
Posted in: 18th century cartography, 19th century cartography, 20th century cartography, City Histories, Guest Posts
Posted by: Carissa Pastuch
At the dawn of the 20th century, hundreds of U.S. citizens dreamed of starting a new life—and a new U.S. territory—on Cuba’s Isle of Pines at what would be known as the McKinley Colonies. A newly cataloged collection of promotional plat maps for this short-lived project shows just how big the founders’ ambitions were, and the role maps played in selling the idea.
Posted in: 20th century cartography, American History, Guest Posts
Posted by: Amelia Raines
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.
Posted in: 20th century cartography, African American History, American History, European History, Military History
Posted by: Julie Stoner
This is a guest post written by G&M summer intern, Elizabeth Dorokhina. This post explores maps of the Trans-Siberian Railway, especially, how cartography shows more than just a limited geographical area, but political, social and economic issues across the world.
Posted in: 20th century cartography, Asian History, Guest Posts
Posted by: Lena Mattson
An event announcement from the Library of Congress’s Geography & Map Division and the Philip Lee Phillips Society (PLPS), featuring a display of recent staff projects and favorite collection items, will take place on the afternoon of September 18.
Posted in: Events, Geography and Map Division
Posted by: Cynthia Smith
The Library of Congress holds an extensive collection of maps that have been printed, drawn and embroidered on cloth. This post features a few examples of textile maps held in the Geography and Map Division.
Posted in: 19th century cartography, 20th century cartography, 21st century cartography, American History, Asian History, European History, Military History
Posted by: Tim St. Onge
Taking place 245 years ago this month, the Battle of Camden was a pivotal moment in the Revolutionary War. Through a series of battlefield maps by different cartographers, we can see how battle lines spelled disaster for American forces, but would also yield lessons to help win the war the following year.
Posted in: 18th century cartography, American History, Military History