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Posted by: Ed Redmond
As we learned in my previous blog, surveying is the art of measuring land. During the 18th century colonial surveying was relatively crude. A fixed “beginning point” such as a tree or a rock was established as the starting point for the survey. A 66 foot long chain, commonly known as a Gunters Chain, was …
Posted in: 18th century cartography, 19th century cartography
![Plan goroda Dalʹni︠a︡go / glavnyĭ inzhener V. Sakharov. [Russia]: Litografiia T. Daloniago, [around 1899]. Map, lithographic print. Scale approximately 1:21,000. 0.01 [represents] 100 sagenes. Geography and Map Division. LC call number G7824.D3 1899 .S3](http://blogs.loc.gov/maps/files/2019/10/Untitled-1.jpg)
Posted by: Mike Klein
In 1898 Tsarist Russia wrested from China a long-term lease for Port Arthur (Lushun), its new-found warm-water port on the east coast restricted to use by the Russian navy. Under pressure from Great Britain and Germany, two other European powers with concessions in China, Russia agreed to establish an open port on the southern tip …
Posted in: 19th century cartography
Posted by: Julie Stoner
Board games have been played around the world for millennia. One of the oldest board games known to exist, named Senet, appears in an Egyptian hieroglyph from about 5,000 years ago! The late 18th century saw a rise in the creation of board games in Europe, many of which were educational, designed to be an …
Posted in: 19th century cartography
Posted by: Cynthia Smith
Above is an image of the constellation Perseus holding the head of Medusa, famous for her serpentine hair. This chart is from a Russian celestial atlas published in 1829. I became aware of this unusual atlas while searching for new acquisitions for the collections of Geography and Map Division. This led me to learn more …
Posted in: 19th century cartography, Celestial Mapping