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Category: 20th century cartography

Detail of Lincoln Highway from Omaha to Chicago and Philadelphia, about 1921. Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress.

1920s Road Trip: The Lincoln Highway in Strip Maps

Posted by: Ryan Moore

The “strip maps” published by the Automobile Club of Southern California are considered a collector’s item in some circles of map enthusiasts. Strip maps once helped drivers navigate major routes and often included a list of “approved” hotels, restaurants, and auto repair stations. Their name likely stems from the narrow rectangular paper strip upon which …

Brown, red, and yellow tinted map illustration of the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, with a circular frame around them

The Elusive Nicaragua Canal

Posted by: Tim St. Onge

For over one hundred years, the Panama Canal has been a world-renowned marvel of engineering, creating a vital shipping link between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. But at the turn of the 20th century, if it were not for some eleventh hour political maneuvering, and perhaps a very persuasive postage stamp, perhaps the famous canal …