Geographic and Cartographic Materials
Scope
This overview of the Library's collections deals with the geographic materials selected for the general collections and the cartographic materials acquired, processed, and managed by the Geography and Map Division.
"Geographic materials" is defined as materials related to the discipline of geography, including exploration and discovery, general geographic description and analysis, history of geographic thought, geographic bibliography, historical geography, and place-name literature.
"Cartographic materials" is defined as spatial data presented graphically in the form of maps, atlases, globes, and three-dimensional maps and terrain models. Also included in the collections are remote sensing imagery and aerial photographs, cartographic microform, geographic information systems, and digital data bases. It also includes cartographic literature in the form of books, serials, and pamphlets relating to cartography and controlled by the division card catalog and the Bibliography of Cartography; a Pamphlet File (51 linear feet); and finding aids including card catalogs, bibliographies, inventories, as well as the Maps online data base. Atlases are listed in the Books online data base and in card catalogs.
Excluded from this overview are geology, climatology, oceanography, astronomy, urban planning, and demography.
Size
The Geography and Map Division collections are the largest and most comprehensive cartographic collection in the world, numbering more than 4 million maps, 57,000 atlases, and 9,000 reference works. The division also has custody of over 350 globes, 2,000 three-dimensional plastic relief models, and a large number of cartographic materials in other formats. Recent advances in cartographic data acquisition are represented by a remote sensing imagery and aerial photographic browse file that provides access to nearly seven million world-wide photographic images. Most recently, the Library has begun acquiring cartographic material in digital data bases, including the TIGER files from the 1990 U.S. Census. Approximately 60,000 cartographic items are added to the permanent collections each year, including current publications as well as retrospective materials.
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Selected Statistics on Holdings
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| Maps | 4,182,113 |
| Atlases | est. 57,290 |
| Remote Sensing Imagery and Aerial Photography |
est. 7,000,000 items |
| Microform Collections | 5,400 reels of microfilm; 94,000 (105mm) microfiche |
| Digital Data | 585 CD-ROMs |
| Cartographic Literature Housed in G&M | est. 9,000 vols. |
General Research Strengths
The collection's greatest strength is its comprehensiveness, dating from the fourteenth-century to the present and covering virtually every country on earth. It is unique in that it includes cartographic material in all formats, retrospective materials as well as the most recently produced, and is one of the few places where archival files of federally produced maps have been systematically retained. Current domestic materials are received through government deposits made by Federal and state map producing agencies, copyright deposits, and solicitation programs directed toward local government agencies and associations. Foreign produced maps and charts are acquired through purchase, exchange, and through the Library's field offices or the Department of State.
Retrospective items are obtained through government library transfers of outdated superseded maps, gifts, direct purchases and duplicate exchanges with other institutions and map dealers. The variety of means of acquisition results in a collection that has excellent recent coverage of most of the world, and specific strengths in the areas of North America, the Western Hemisphere, Europe, reproductions from foreign archives, nautical charts, remote sensing imagery including NASA materials, and digital data for use in geographic information systems.
Areas of Distinction
Discovery and Exploration of AmericaA number of primary collections document the discovery and exploration of America, with special emphasis on the Age of Discovery, Spanish Southwest, and the Trans-Mississippi West.
Notable holdings and special collections:
- Henry Harrisse Collection
- Johann Georg Kohl Collection
- Lewis and Clark Collection
- Woodbury Lowery Collection
- U.S. Congressional Serial Set Collection
- Vellum Nautical Chart Collection
- Karpinski Collection of Photocopied Maps in French, Spanish, and Portuguese Archives
History of Cartography
The collections document the history of printed cartography better than any other collection in the world. Among the earliest original maps in the collections are three manuscript portolan atlases and 19 portolan charts from the 14th through 17th-centuries drawn on vellum by Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish cartographers. The excellent collection of atlases dates from a 1482 printed edition of Claudius Ptolemys Geography and includes representative volumes of all significant publishers of atlases of the last five centuries. The atlases cover individual continents, countries, states, counties, and cities, and other geographic regions, as well as the world, and they range in Scope from general to topical. In addition, the collection includes early globes and globe gores.
Notable holdings and special collections:
- Coronelli Globes
- Portolan Charts
- Atlas collection
American History
Division collections contain many resources for the study of United States geography, cartography, history, and the social sciences. A considerable number are unique to the collection and are related to other special collections such as Prints and Photographs and Manuscripts. The American Revolutionary Era is very well represented. The approximately 2000 maps that were cataloged as part of the Library's American Revolution Bicentennial program include manuscript field sketches of land and sea battles, troop positions, encampments, city and town plans, as well as engravings by noted eighteenth century mapmakers. Other areas of distinction include maps showing settlement patterns and internal improvements, such as panoramic, fire insurance, railroad, and state and county landownership maps. Another area of distinction is the American Civil War and other wars in which the United States was a participant.
Notable holdings and special collections:
- William Faden Collection (British military maps, 18th-century)
- Richard Howe Collection (British maps of American Revolution)
- Rochambeau Collection and Atlas (French military maps, 1977- 83)
- American Map Collection (Rare printed maps)
- The Atlantic Neptune Collection (Hydrographic surveys of American coastline, 18th-century)
- Peter Force Collection (British and American maps, 1685-1842)
- Millard Fillmore Collection (Collected by President Fillmore)
- Jedediah Hotchkiss Collection (Confederate Civil War maps)
- William Tecumseh Sherman Collection (Civil War battle maps)
- County Landownership Map and Atlas Collection
Urban Development
One of the great strengths of the Library's holdings are maps and plans of American cities illustrating in great detail their growth and expansion through time and space.
Notable holdings and special collections:
- Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Collection (large scale maps of 12,000 cities, 1867-1970's)
- Panoramic Map Collection (views of 1,200 cities, 1820-1930)
- Washington D.C. Map Collection
Official Large Scale Maps and Charts
The Library's collection of primary, large scale national topographic, cadastral, and hydrographic survey maps is unrivalled. All major official surveying, mapping, and charting agencies worldwide are represented from the 18th-century to the present.
Notable holdings and special collections:
- Official topographic maps for most countries in the World
- Nautical charts
- 1990 Census TIGER Files (CD-ROM)
Remote Sensing Imagery
The division has an extensive browse file of remote sensing images and aerial photographs that provides access to nearly 7,000,000 world wide images taken by various agencies of the Federal government.
Notable holdings and special collections:
- Remote Sensing Imagery and Serial Photography Browse File
- Edgar Tobin Aerial Surveys Collection (Photographic prints)
- NASA Print Collection (Satellite images)
- EOSAT Print Collection (Satellite images)
Decorative Atlases and Maps
The collection is very strong in the area of decorative cartographic materials. Recent acquisitions have added to this category of material.
Notable holdings and special collections:
- Atlas Collection . Melville Eastham Collection (Atlas pages)
- Ethel Fair Collection
- Hal Shelton Collection (Hand painted maps)
- Hauslab-Liechtenstein Collection (thematic and topographic maps of Europe, 19th-century
- Richard Edes Harrison Map Collection
European History: 19th and 20th-Centuries
The collection includes extensive information on placenames, shifting borders, and change over time, and is particularly useful for genealogical research.
Notable holdings and special collections:
- Topographic map series
- Current and historical gazetteers
- Geographic and travel literature
East Asia
The holdings in the area of East Asian Studies are particularly strong for China, Japan, and Korea.
Notable holdings and special collections:
- East Asian Collection (Printed maps of China, Japan, and Korea)
- Arthur W. Hummel Collection (Manuscript and printed maps of China during Ming Period)
- Shannon McCune Collection (Maps and atlases of Korea)
- Langdon Warner Collection (Manuscript maps and atlases of Korea and China)
- Topographic Map Series
Weaknesses/Exclusions
The collection in general has a shortage of manuscript material. Most manuscript material produced by the U.S. Government is housed in the National Archives, while most manuscript material documenting the Colonial period of American history is housed in European archives. In addition, the great cartographic manuscripts documenting 15th-19th century European exploration and discovery, which are extremely important documents in American history, reside almost exclusively in libraries and archives in Europe. Even here, one of the strengths of the holdings is the large collection of photocopies of significant historical maps from European institutions.
In addition, until recently, the collection contained a paucity of material documenting the compilation and construction of cartographic publications. Like most map collections, LC has acquired the final published cartographic product, with little or no attention paid to how maps and cartographic materials are constructed and printed. Recent acquisition of the Merrian, Harrison, and Miller collections has strengthened the holdings in this area.
