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Posted by: Carissa Pastuch
The Geography and Map Division and Philip Lee Phillips Map Society are hosting an in-person and virtual 2024 Fall Presentation on Islamic mapping.
Posted in: Events, Middle East and North African History
Posted by: Abraham Parrish
An insight into early 18th century trade in the East-Indies focusing on the English East Indies Company and the 1721-1723 trade voyage of the ship Townsend revealed through the maps of British cartographer Herman Moll.
Posted in: 18th century cartography, Asian History, City Histories, European History, Middle East and North African History
Posted by: Cynthia Smith
This post features a qibla compass that was recently acquired for the collections of the Geography and Map Division. The qibla compass was made in Turkey during the Ottoman Empire.
Posted in: 18th century cartography, 19th century cartography, Middle East and North African History
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
Posted by: Amelia Raines
1960 was a dramatic year for Africa, in which 17 countries gained their independence from colonial powers. This post charts the events of that watershed year through a series of political maps produced by the CIA.
Posted in: 20th century cartography, African History, Borders, Middle East and North African History
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
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, 16th 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
Posted by: Carissa Pastuch
In 1899, British geologist Henry G. Lyons (1864–1944) began a systematic reassessment of the cadastral surveys conducted in Egypt under Ottoman Turkish rule. His updated survey was built upon 90 years of work—starting in 1813 when Muʿallim Ghali, a finance minister appointed by Muhammad ʿAli Basha (1769–1849), reorganized the finances of Egypt to optimize taxation. …
Posted in: 20th century cartography, Middle East and North African History