Atlas of the Ottoman New Order
Posted by: Carissa Pastuch
This blog showcases one of our rare 19th century Ottoman Turkish cartographic works.
Posted in: 19th century cartography, Middle East and North African History
Category: 19th century cartography
Jesse Hutchinson’s View From High Rock
Posted by: Meagan Snow
High above the coastal town of Lynn, Massachusetts sits High Rock. Today, High Rock is a city park, but its history ties back to the Hutchinson Family Singers and the pre-Civil War abolitionist movement in the United States.
Posted in: 19th century cartography, American History
Following the Cape to Cairo Railway
Posted by: Tim St. Onge
An 1898 map allows for a close examination of the natural and political geography of colonization during the "Scramble for Africa" and the never-completed Cape to Cairo Railway.
Posted in: 19th century cartography, African History, Borders, Military History
Tracing General Sherman’s “March to the Sea”
Posted by: Meagan Snow
Follow General William Tecumseh Sherman's march across Georgia during the American Civil War, illustrated by Library of Congress maps and images.
Posted in: 19th century cartography, American History, Military History
More Places in Civil War History
Posted by: Amelia Raines
This post is a compilation of the Places in History series written by G&M staff in 2011 and 2016, which explores maps produced during the Civil War, their creation, and the geography they depict. Previous blog posts based on that series can be seen under Places in Civil War History. Mapping Slavery According to the 1860 …
Posted in: 19th century cartography, African American History, American History, Series: Places in Civil War History
Lost at Sea: The Treasure Maps of the Library of Congress
Posted by: Cynthia Smith
A picture of a skull and crossbones marks the location of a special collection in the Geography and Map Division. The collection consists of wreck charts published by U.S. federal government agencies, treasure maps made by famous cartographers during the 18th and 19th centuries, and treasure maps published by commercial companies during the mid -20th …
Posted in: 18th century cartography, 19th century cartography, 20th century cartography, Exploration
Exploring the First Printed Arabic World Atlas
Posted by: Carissa Pastuch
On the vault shelves of the Geography and Map Division between John Arrowsmith’s London Atlas of Universal Geography (1858) and a 19th century French jigsaw-puzzle map of the world made of wood, Atlas geographique, lies a 50 x 31 centimeter nondescript atlas in green binding. The hunter green lusterless cover may seem unremarkable, but open …
Posted in: 19th century cartography, Middle East and North African History
Southern Lands, Explorers, and Bears – Oh My!
Posted by: Amelia Raines
The story of the naming of America has been told before – not surprisingly considering the object central to the story, Martin Waldseemüller’s 1507 world map, is one of the most important treasures in the Geography and Map Division. The name was bestowed by the mapmaker to show his support for Amerigo Vespucci’s argument that …
Posted in: 15th century cartography, 17th century cartography, 18th century cartography, 19th century cartography, African History, American History, Asian History, European History, Exploration, Middle East and North African History, Oceania
Reading between the Gridlines
Posted by: Amelia Raines
A few weeks ago, I had the wonderful opportunity, thanks to generous funding from the Philip Lee Phillips Society and the Library of Congress Professional Association, to attend the Material Foundations of Map History, 1450-1900, course held by the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia. The course was taught by Matthew Edney, Osher …
Posted in: 18th century cartography, 19th century cartography, American History, Geography and Map Division, Manuscripts