David Rumsey Map Collection

Mapa Geografico De America Meridional, 1775
Cruz Cano y Olmedilla, Juan de la; Ricarte, Hippolytus, Madrid
This is probably the most important map of South America made in the 18th century. When the eight sheets are joined together they make a huge and impressive wall map. The author, Juan de la Cruz Cano y Olmedilla, spent ten years collecting measurements and information compiled by explorers and colonists and incorporated these into the map along with valuable geographical and historical news, with some references to the sources used.  This is the second edition with all the sheets from the second edition (except sheet 8, the title sheet which is first edition in all copies). The first edition was somewhat incomplete, almost like a proof. Lavishly and beautifully embellished, the map emphasizes Spanish colonial power in South America. The map went through many editions with various political implications over a period of decades. The only other copy of this complete second edition is in the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid. Two large inset maps: Puerto de Callao (Lima) and Sitio de Angostura (site of Angostura).  View  Map

Atlas Minimus, 1758; Atlas Geographicus Portatilis, 1762
Gibson, John; Bowen, Emanuel , London
Lotter, Tobias Conrad; Lobeck, Tobias, Augsburg
Two important miniature pocket atlases from the 18th century. The Gibson and Bowen Atlas Minimus went through another London edition in 1792 and a Philadelphia edition by Matthew Carey in 1798.  Lotter's Atlas Geographicus Portatilis consists entirely of double-page engraved plates and hand-colored maps. The maps are dense with information, given their small size.View both Miniature Atlases

The General Atlas For Carey's Edition Of Guthrie's Geography Improved ... 1795
Carey, Mathew, Philadelphia
This atlas accompanies Carey's Philadelphia edition of William Guthrie's Geography, a popular world geography published in several countries in the late 18th century. The maps are similar to those published in Carey's General Atlas of 1796 (see our copy). This atlas is the first world atlas published in America - however, the 1796 edition above is also considered the first because it was issued as a separate atlas, not tied to the Guthrie Geography; it went through several editions up to 1818.  View Atlas

Two Editions of Wilkinson's General Atlas of the World, 1806 and 1808, and the 1823 Edition of Wilkinson's Atlas Classica.
Wilkinson, Robert, London
Wilkinson's General Atlas maps were copied freely by American mapmakers of the period, especially the non-American maps. American map publishers such as  Lucas, Morse (S.E.), and Cummings & Hilliard (and Worcester) did this. Tooley says the last edition of Wilkinson's Genreal Atlas was 1809 (there appear to be no differences other than the title page between the 1808 and 1809 editions); Phillips has 1807; Moreland mentions 1816 as a re-issue - this also was probably used by the Americans.  Wilkinson's Atlas Classica  was also a source copied by American publishers for their classical atlases. The first Wilkinson Atlas Classica edition was 1797; this copy is a fairly late issue.  Relief shown in various styles of hachures and sketches. Includes six "Chrono-Geneological Charts." View Atlases

Colombia Prima or South America, In which it has been attempted to delineate the Extent of our Knowledge of that Continent Extracted Chiefly from the Original Manuscript Maps of His Excellency the late Chevalier Pinto Likewise from those of Joao Joaquin da Rocha, Joao da Costa Ferreira, El Padre Francisco Manuel Sobrevielo &c. And From the most Authentic Edited Accounts of Those Countries, 1807
Faden, William, 1750?-1836; Delarochette, Louis Stanislas d'Arcy, London
An enormous early 19th century map of South America, rivaled only by Arrowsmith's map of 1810/1814. Shows the various colonial possessions with great detail. Scale approximate; six different scales provided. A compilation based on many reputable sources, as itemized on Sheet 8. Index on cover uses the title,"South America from the Latest Spanish and Portuguese Surveys". Each of the 8 sheets are cut into rectangles and backed with sturdy white muslin. Relief shown in hachures. Limits of the dominions of the Spanish, Portuguese, French and Dutch highlighted in color. Multiple languages per dominions, and includes English. View Map

13 Maps and 1 Atlas by Aaron Arrowsmith, various dates, 1799 to 1822
Arrowsmith, Aaron,  London
Continuing our placing online the non-American maps of Aaron Arrowsmith (see our previous group of Arrowsmith maps here), we have added maps of Egypt, Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales (2 editions), Germany (2 editions), East India Islands, Greece, Asia Minor, and Southeast Asia.  Included also is a small five sheet atlas titled "Complete Neptune, to Illustrate, by Arrowsmith, The Progress of Maritime Discovery," which shows the progress of mapping the coast of Africa from Gibraltar south to the Cape of Good Hope.  Typical of Arrowsmith's fine cartography, the maps are extraordinarily detailed and up-to-date for their time. View Maps        View All Arrowsmith Maps

Oddy's New General Atlas Of The World Containing Maps of Empires, Kingdoms, States Principalities &c. Engraved and Carefully Selected from the latest and most Approved Authors by James Wallis. London. Published by S.A. Oddy, No. 20 Warwick Lane & Sold by Davies & Eldridge, Exeter, Thompson & Wrightson, Birmingham & T. Sutherland, Edinburgh. 1811
Oddy, S.A.; Wallis, James, London
Obscure atlas not in Phillips. Similar to Wilkinson, but different. Important for being the source of most of the non U.S. state maps published by Lucas in his New and Elegant General Atlas of 1815 (see our copy). Most of these maps were also used in the 1823 General Atlas by Lucas, although North America was done new as well as a few others. Maps are hand painted in full color. Prime meridian London. Relief shown by sketches. View Atlas

A Military and Topographical Atlas of the United States; including The British Possessions & Florida ... To Which Is Added, A List Of The Military Districts, A Register Of The Army, And A List Of The Navy Of The United States, 2 editions, 1813 and 1815.
Melish, John, Philadelphia
1st edition. and 2nd edition. The first edition was published during the war of 1812, and thus has the feeling of events unfolding with an uncertain outcome. The second edition was published in 1815 after the conclusion of the war, and has different text, and is more of a history. Henry Tanner engraved the five large maps that Melish drew, and J. Vallance engraved the three small maps. We believe this is the first book Melish published with the idea that it was an "Atlas."   View Atlases

372 Pocket Maps and Related Images, Various Dates, 1813 - 1969.
Various Authors and various Publishers.
A wide ranging group of Pocket Maps from the 19th and 20th centuries.  View Maps

Comparative View of the Heights of the Principal Mountains &c. in the World, 1816
Smith, C., London
Third edition. A colorful rendering of comparative mountain heights worldwide, although separated into the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. Other aspects of the illustration (with the exception of showing volcanoes) appear to be fanciful. Substantially more taller mountains than an earlier edition (although the same date). The peaks are listed, each with a unique number which can be matched up with the numbers at the top and bottom of the illustration. By making a line between the numbers, the corresponding peak is intersected.  View Map

Comparative View of the Lengths of the Principal Rivers in the World, 1817
Smith, C., London
This is a companion map to the Heights of Mountains map also by Smith. The rivers have been necessarily straightened to indicate the lengths of the rivers. The compass orientation of the flowing stream is indicated by small north-pointing arrows periodically drawn adjacent to the stream. Includes table of the Length of Rivers in British Miles. A textual description of the rivers accompanies the illustration; it describes the course of the Missouri River, "recently explored by the Americans" (Lewis and Clark), as being "extremely devious." Beautiful color. View Map

Map Of The State of Georgia Prepared from actual Surveys and other Documents for Eleazer Early By Daniel Sturges, 1818
Early, Eleazer; Sturges, Daniel, Savannah
This is the first large scale map of Georgia and it ranks in importance with the other large Southern State and Territory maps of the period. It was undoubtedly the most accurate Georgia map when published, It has a lovely cartouche vignette, a table of distances, a statistical table, and "Remarks, Statistical and Geological." Streeter: "All in all an important and elaborate map of Georgia in the first part of the nineteenth century."   View Map

A New American Atlas Containing Maps Of The Several States of the North American Union, Projected and drawn on a Uniform Scale from Documents found in the public Offices of the United States and State Governments, and other Original and Authentic Information - Three Editions, 1823, 1824, 1833
Tanner, Henry, Philadelphia
Three editions of this important atlas, each with different or similar issues of the maps. After the first edition of this atlas, it is clear from looking at these and later issues that Tanner simply used maps that were available in his stock, regardless of whether they were the more recently updated copies. Nonetheless, the atlases represent an extraordinarily detailed and accurate look at the political and industrial development of the United States at the time.  View Atlases

View All Six Editions of the American Atlas.

A Group of 58 Guide Books from 1819 to 1934
Various Authors, Various Places
Includes city guides, state guides, national railroad guides, a guide to Chicago including a "history of the Great Fire," Langley's Street Guide to San Francisco with all the street listing pages, Boardman's White Mountain Guide, Guides to Canals and Railroads, Norman's Guide to New Orleans, Disturnell's Hudson River Guide, and others. Many of the guides contain interesting illustrations, views, and advertisements.    View Guides

Karte der Schweiz, von Dr. I. Woerl. Lithographie von B. Herder in Freiburg im Breisgau, 1835
Woerl, Joseph Edmund; Herder, Bartholomew, Freiburg im Breisgau
This little-known map of Switzerland by Joseph Edmund Woerl is an important record of the Swiss road network in the early 19th century. It is also an outstanding example of early lithographic map printing. Woerl seems to have pioneered a method of using color lithography to show roads and important places and towns - he used a red lithographic stone for a second overlay printing. Espenhorst speculates that Woerl may have used a unique combination of lithography and engraving to produce these maps. View Maps

Hand Atlas Uber Alle Theile Der Erde nach dem neuesten Zustande Und Uber Das Weltgebaude, 1837
Stieler, Adolf, Gotha
Date estimated. 29 maps as issued thus a smaller version; 50 was the standard issue. Maps dated 1828-37. The atlas was originally issued in parts in 1816-23, totaling 50 maps. In 1832 a 63 map edition was advertised to be issued in 6 parts. See P6039 for further details. The Stieler Hand Atlas was often issued with different numbers of maps, tailored to fit the customer's specific needs. View Atlas

Nach Angabe und auf Kosten des Verfassers der Darstellung des Erzharzofthums Osterreich unter der Ens. (The depiction of the Archduchy Austria below the Enns), 1837
Schweickhardt, Franz Xaver, Vienna
An extraordinary group of 63 birds-eye views of the Austrian countryside that all fit together into one very large image (we also have the composite image of all 63 joined).  Schweickhardt intended to make 160 views but was unable to finish the project due to financial difficulties.The views show the cultural landscape of the period in great detail, with settlements, buildings, roads, trees, and other features. View Atlas   View in Google Earth

Willard's Chronographer of American History, 1845
Willard, Emma, New York
Willard uses the Historic Tree as a visualization of important events in American history. A smaller version of this diagram appears in one of her text books. Willard sums up her goal with this chart: "The eye is the only medium of permanent impression. The essential point in a date, is to know the relative place of an event, or how it stands in time, compared with other important events."    View Map

Topographical & Geological Map Of The Property Belonging To The Brady's Bend Iron Co. Located In Armstrong County Pa., 1850
Franks, Theo.; Brady's Bend Iron Co., Pittsburgh
This remarkable large map shows in great detail the works of the Brandy's Bend Iron Co. on the Allegheny River northeast of Pittsburgh. The scale is large and the map is subtly colored. All the buildings, tracks, roads and Collieries are delineated. There is a "Geological Section from Notes by Prof. Shepherd" showing the land on which the Iron Company is built. Two vignettes show the imposing buildings. Why this map was made is not clear, certainly not for general consumption, but perhaps for investors or others specifically interested in the Companies facilities. The date is estimated. Scale 300 feet to an inch.  View Map

Atlas Of Physical Geography, Illustrating, In A Series Of Original Designs, The Elementary Facts Of Geology, Hydrology, Meteorology, And Natural History, 1852
Johnston, A. Keith, Edinburgh, London
Smaller edition of the Johnston's large physical atlas of 1856 (first issued in 1848).  The thematic maps are simplified and in that process become very interesting in themselves. Printed in full color. Relief shown by hachures.    View Atlas

Department of Oregon. Map of the State of Oregon and Washington Territory, 1859
U.S. War Department, Topographical Engineers, Washington, D.C.
Wheat: "Map shows Washington Territory curving around the state of Oregon and taking in all of Idaho, although a political border is not shown. A number of "authorities" are stated in a note, and except for the unexplored portions this seems to be about the best map of Oregon, Washington and Idaho country that could have been made prior to the Civil War. It is an excellent map." This map was part of a series of maps by the U.S. Topographical Engineers - see Wheat 960 "Map of Utah Territory" 1858 and Wheat 967 "Territory and Military Department of New Mexico 1859." View Map

Illustrirter Handatlas fur Freunde der Erdkunde und Zum Gebrauch Beim Unterricht im verein mit Heinrich Leutemann Herausgegeben von Ehrenfried Leeder und Theodor Schade, 1863
Brockhaus, F.A.; Leeder, Ehrenfried; Leutemann, Heinrich, Leipzig.
Lavishly illustrated around margins of maps with high quality vignettes of animals, structures and people. Espenhorst: "The atlas had 22 maps, drawn under the direction of Ehrenfried Leeder (1820-1884), as well as illustrations produced by Heinrich Leutemann (1824-1905), who had been working for Brockhaus since 1837. The 32 unnumbered pages of accompanying text were prepared under the direction of Theodor Schade (1820-1882)...Leutemann produced over 200 steel-engraved illustrations, most of which were used as frames around the maps...Thus each sheet had a colored map in its center, surrounded by appropriate scenes illustrating the land and its people, the animals and plants to be found there as well as the buildings and scenery which could be seen...these atlases are so sought after today that a reprint of the 1863 edition was produced in 2005." View Atlas

Carta corografica del Estado de Panama, 1865
Columbia. Comision Corografica; Ponce de Leon, Manuel, Paris, Bogota
One of the earliest printed maps of Panama based upon indigenous surveys. Published during the period when it was still one of the states of Colombia. This map was part of the mapping of Colombia undertaken by Ponce de Leon, Maria Paz, and Codazzi. With Codazzi's death, Maria Paz and Manuel Ponce de Leon were given control of the project's completion and publication of the surveying and mapping work.  View Map

Detailed Maps Of The North West Boundary From Points Roberts To The Rocky Mountains Between The United States And The British Possessions, 1866
U.S. North West Boundary Survey; Campbell, Archibald, New York
7 very large and detailed maps of the boundary. The maps are undated and not listed specifically in any sources we can locate. These maps are unusual in appearance because of the photo-lithographic enlargement - a great deal of detail is apparent. When put together the seven sheets are about forty feet long - we have made a composite.            View Maps

United States Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel. Clarence King. Geologist in Charge. Atlas Accompanying Volume III on Mining Industry, 1870
King, Clarence, Washington, D.C.
Early geological mapping of the Comstock Lode - a later and more detailed rendering of the Comstock Lode appears in Becker's subsequent 1882 U.S. Geological Survey Atlas of the Geology of the Comstock Lode. By that time Clarence King was Director of the U.S.G.S. Excellent  overview map showing the locations of mines along the route of King's 40th Parallel survey.  View Atlas

The Voyage from New York to San Francisco upon the Union Pacific Railroad. El Viage De Nueva York A San Francisco Sobre el ferro-carril pacifico de los estados unidos. Reise von New-York nach San Francisco auf der Union-Pacific Bahn. Il viaggio di Nuova York a San Francisco sulla strada ferrata pacifica degli stati uniti. De reis van New-York na San-francisco op de Pacific-ijzerbaan van de vereenigte Staaten. Le voyage de New-york a San Francisco sur le chemin de fer pacific des etats unis, 1870
Union Pacific Railroad Game, No Place of Publication
Date and author estimated, not indicated in the printed materials. An unusual board game based on the "new Union Pacific Railroad." The game board shows forty five beautifully executed views of places along the Union Pacific route, starting with "Rail road depot in New York" and ending in "San Francisco, the metropolis of California." Along the way, we have, among others, views of Pittsburgh, Omaha, "surprise by savage Indians," "wild heard of buffalloes," "railroad bridge over the Platte river," Cheyenne, Green River, Humboldt Valley, "Trukee" Valley, Sierra Nevada and Sacramento. The text is titled "Trip from New-York to San Francisco by the Union Pacific Rail Road. A new illustrated Travel-game with 45 stations, 1 dy, 12 cars and 12 numbers charts." The text is written in German and English and explains the game and the views. The cover of the game box (19x24) has a lovely colored litho view of two women joining hands across the American Continent, one representing America and the other Asia. Not in any of the standard game references - rare. View Game

Carte drolatique d'Europe pour 1870
Hadol, Paul, 1835-1875, Paris
Each country is represented by human and animal form of a cartoon character that reflects the personality of each country at the onset of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. Russia, embracing all the German states, expands in every direction with one hand placed firmly on Holland and Belgium. With one knee she crushes Austria. The map is attributed to Paul Hadol, a French caricaturist of the Napoleonic Third Empire.  View Map

Hand Atlas Uber Alle Theile Der Erde Und Uber Das Weltgebaude. Erste Auscabe 1817 Jubel Auscabe 1867, 1873
Stieler, Adolf, Gotha
Date estimated. A composite atlas with title page, no index. A strange collection in original binding, indicating it was made up for a customer who seemed to want several maps of the same area, but with different publication dates. Maps are dated from early 1860's to 1873. According to the title page, 1817 was the first edition of Stieler's Atlas; Title page is dated 1867. Some of the multi-sheet map sets are incomplete, as in the United States with three sheets of six. View Atlas

Reports upon the Survey of the Boundary Between the Territory of the United States and the Possessions of Great Britain from the Lake of the Woods to the Summit of the Rocky Mountains, 1878
U.S. Northern Boundary Commission; Campbell, Archibald; Twining, W.J., Washington
Surveys from Lake of the Woods to Rocky Mts. A separate atlas of 24 maps was published to accompany this report. See also the 1866 U.S. North West Boundary maps for the survey from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific.       View Report

The Statistical Atlas of England, Scotland and Ireland, 1882
Bevan, G. Phillips, Edinburgh, London
This atlas is interesting for its visualization of statistical data of various kinds, using maps of England, Scotland, and Ireland to place data regarding crime, agriculture, education, mining, religion, and more. However the maps themselves are somewhat unimaginative in showing the data: basically, the data is placed on the maps in different colors and symbols, in a manner that conveys the spatial aspects of the information but does not go much further. Francis Walker's Statistical Atlas of the U.S. Census published in 1874 is far more path breaking in its visualizations and it is odd that Bevan seems to be unaware of it, eight years later.  View Atlas

Map of Western Palestine in 26 Sheets from surveys conducted for the Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund by Lieutenants C.R. Conder and H.H. Kitchener, R.E. During the Years 1872 - 1877. [Bound with 4 other maps of Palestine], 1880
Conder, C.R. (Claude Reignier); Kitchener, H.R. (Horatio Herbert), London
Kitchener's Palestine survey was important because it was so accurate that it is still consulted today as a reliable record of late 19th century Palestine by archaeologists and geographers.  This copy is special: it is likely the 3rd issue of the 26 sheet map and was printed by Edward Stanford instead of the Ordnance Survey which produced the first two issues earlier in 1880 and, bound with this copy are four additional maps of Palestine made by Stanford and based on the 26 sheet survey (two of the additional maps are dated 1881 and 1882 respectively, indicating that this bound volume was issued in 1882). View Atlas   View 26 Sheet Palestine Map in Google Earth

Official Map of Chinatown in San Francisco. Prepared under the supervision of the Special Committee of the Board of Supervisors, July, 1885
Farwell, Willard B.; Kunkler, John E.; Pond, E.B., San Francisco
First edition, first issue. Large folding map on two sheets, joined. Printed in colors. In 1885, at the height of the anti-Chinese hysteria in California, the official Report of the Special Committee of the Board of Supervisors was issued, reporting on the "Condition of the Chinese Quarter and the Chinese in San Francisco." This inflammatory report included the rare folding color map of Chinatown, but in the usual "small-scale" version (approx. 8½x19½ inches). The same small map was also issued in the San Francisco Municipal Report of 1884-85, and in Farwell's The Chinese at Home and Abroad.. However, the first issue of this map was printed in a supersized version by San Francisco's first "fine press printer," Edward Bosqui, and this is our copy shown here. It was most likely printed for the use of key city officials. The map shows San Francisco's Chinatown, bordered by California, Stockton, Broadway, and Kearney Streets. It is color-coded to show every business, gambling parlor, houses of white and Chinese prostitution, opium "Resorts," joss houses, etc. It was printed on a scale of 40 feet to the inch. The differences in this large-scale copy and the smaller version are the list of Supervisors imprinted thereon, different type fonts for streets, etc, one mistakenly identified house of white prostitution (corrected in the smaller version as a house of Chinese prostitution), and the Bosqui imprint. This large-scale version is exceedingly rare. Only a handful of copies are known, most in institutional libraries.   View Map             View Map in Google Earth

B.F. Steven's Facsimile of the Unpublished British Head Quarters Coloured Manuscript map of New York & Environs, 1782, Reproduced from the original drawing in the War Office, London. Issued only to subscribers at 4, Trafalgar Square, W.C., London. 1782
Great Britain. War Office; Stevens, Benjamin Franklin , London
From the printed advertisement for the map: "BF STEVENS'S Facsimile of the Unpublished British Headquarters Coloured Manuscript Map of New York and Environs 1782. Reproduced from the Original Drawing in the War Office London. 24 sheets Scale 6 1/2 inches to a mile. 10 feet by 4 feet. The successive British Commanders in Chief in America Generals Sir William Howe, Sir Henry Clinton, and Sir Guy Carleton during their respective occupations of New York and Environs in the Revolution caused this manuscript plan from time to time to be kept up. The plan extends from below Guanas Bay to the Heights of Spikendevil, a distance of about eighteen or nineteen miles. It shows the Fortifications, Defenses, Topography, Streets, Roads, etc. of the whole of the Island of New York with the Harbor Islands, Water Ways, and River Frontages on the Hudson and East Rivers, the Military Works on Long Island including Brooklyn, the Works in Paulus Hook and parts of the Jersey Shore. It has a copious Table of References to various works British and American, some of them with notes as to the time of their construction or destruction. The Original Drawing, ten feet by four feet, is on a scale of about six and a half inches to a mile. It is handsomely reproduced for subscribers only in careful facsimile on 24 sheets which can be joined up and mounted like the original as a Wall Map or mounted on linen if desired."  View Map

Andrees Allgemeiner Handatlas in 139 Haupt- und 161 Nebenkarten nebst vollstandigem alphabetischem Namenverzeichnis. Funfte, vollig neubearbeitete und vermehrte Auflage. Jubilaumsausgabe. Herausgegeben von A. Scobel. Bielefeld Und Leipzig, Verlag Von Velhagen & Klasing, 1906.
Andree, Richard; Scobel, Albert, Leipzig
Andre's atlas is know for fine engraving and extraordinary detail. He produced the early versions of the Times Atlas until Bartholomew took over in 1922.  View Atlas

The Victoria Regina Atlas, Political, Physical & Astronomical. Containing Two Hundred Plates and Complete Index. Second Edition. W. & A.K. Johnston, Ltd. Established 1825. Edinburgh & London. 1906.
W. & A.K. Johnston Limited, Edinburgh, London
This atlas is small format but dense with information. Many of the maps are part of larger composites, which we have assembled as such.  The regional and city maps are very well done.  View Atlas

Map of Alaska By the Alaska Road Commission. 1909
United States. Alaska Road Commission, Washington D.C.
The map is a huge production, much larger than any other general map of Alaska published in this time period. The Board of Road Commissioners for Alaska, more commonly known as the Alaska Road Commission or ARC, was created in 1905 as a board of the U.S. War Department. It produced this map which shows roads, trails, railroads, telegraph lines, etc. Relief shown by contours. contour interval 1000 feet. At 5ft by 6ft, few maps of this period have as much detail and information. View Map

Six Panoramic Views of United States National Parks, 1914 - 1915
USGS (U.S. Geological Survey); John H. Renshawe , Washington D.C.
Shaded relief without contours. Full color artistic rendering of the parks which is very effective and unusual. Part of a series for the national parks.  View Maps

Official California State Highway System Maps From 1918 - 1990
California Department of Transportation (CALTRANS), Sacramento
A reversed chronological assembly (broken run) of 45 official California highway maps bound together with a custom cover. Begins in 1990 and goes back to 1918. Shows the development of the highway system over time. Color. Information included varies by date but includes regional enlargements, illustrations, descriptive text, route descriptions, and construction and funding status. Atlas obtained from the Institute of Transportation Studies Library (Harmer E. Davis Transportation Library) at the University of California, Berkeley  View Maps

California, 1945
Mora, Jo, Monterey
Jo Mora has created a delightful and beautiful map of California that is both personal and humorous. Pictorial map with vignettes and text. Mission pictures. Full color. View Map

Physiographic Diagram, Atlantic Ocean (Sheet 1), 1957
Heezen, Bruce C.; Tharp, Marie
An early bathymetric chart of the Atlantic by Heezen and Tharp. View Map

Alaska: Far North Frontier, 1959
Klengston Rude, Studio City, California.
Color pictorial map of Alaska, published the year Alaska officially became the 49th state of the United States of America. Showing rivers, straits, sounds, towns, mountain ranges (drawn in aerial perspective), glaciers (shaded white), and existing and proposed highways. The map is richly illustrated with naturalistic depictions of wildlife, agricultural products, historical landmarks, oil fields and fisheries. Along the left and right sides, six circular illustrations highlight important events in Alaskan history. View Map

The New Portrait of our Planet. Life, 1960
Time Inc., New York.
A Life magazine publication. Hemispheric projection. A striking illustration of the geological and bathymetric theories at the time.  View Map

Six Airline Route Maps, 1960 - 1967
Various Authors, Various Places of Publication..
A group of six large, early airline route maps. Maps have shaded relief. They include illustrations and descriptions of aircraft, sights, cities, landscapes, geology, and aerial views. View Maps

The Floor of the World Ocean, 1961
Harrison, Richard Edes
Modified Briesmeister Elliptical Equal-Area Projection. Map Supplement Number Two, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Volume 51, No.3, September 1961. From the map note: "This map is a visual interpretation of the latest available bathymetric data. In the view of our incomplete knowledge, the drawing incorporates a number of surmises - especially in the inadequately surveyed portions of the Indian and Pacific Oceans."  View Map

Eleven California Freeway and Expressway Maps, 1962 - 1975
California Department of Transportation, Division of Highways, Sacramento.
These maps show the development of the freeway and interstate highways in California over a period of 13 years, from 1962 to 1975 when the system grew exponentially. The maps include regional enlargements of San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, San Diego, and Los Angeles. Maps obtained from the Institute of Transportation Studies Library (Harmer E. Davis Transportation Library) at the University of California, Berkeley. View Maps

California Water Resources Development, including Development of the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Major Features of the California Water Plan together with Various Projects of Districts and Municipalities, 1963
Irrigation Districts Association of California, San Francisco
Oblique view with shaded relief. Text description of water development features. Reflects the expansive dam building attitudes of the period. View Map

Atlas Ceskoslovenske Socialisticke Republiky. (Atlas of the Czechoslovakian Socialist Republic), 1966
Götz, Antonín; Československá akademie věd.; Czechoslovakia. Ústřední správa geodézie a kartografie
A stunning atlas produced in the former Czechoslovakia, showing a great deal of thematic data in excellent cartographic design. In Russian, Czech, and English. View Atlas

Atlas of Volcanic Phenomena, 1971
U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, D.C.
Colorful set of 20 posters of volcanic phenomena. "Original material compiled for use by the Smithsonian Institution."   View Atlas

Climatic Atlas of North and Central America. Atlas climatico de America del Norte y America Central. Altas climatique de l'Amerique de Nord et de l'Amerique Centrale. I. Maps of mean temperatures and precipitation ... 1979
World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Hungary
Maps show air temperatures by month and by year. Compiled based on international standards. Color. Isohyetal maps. View Atlas

Large Maps of Europe, Africa and Asia, 1796 - 1818
Arrowsmith, Aaron, London
At the beginning of the 19th century, one of the finest map makers was Aaron Arrowsmith of London. His cartographic output numbered over 200 maps and several atlases. His individual maps were often made up of several large sheets, giving them a scale and scope not seen in the productions of his peers. We have collected his American large maps for years and recently added a group of European, African, and Asian maps to the collection. Arrowsmith mapped only what was known, rarely speculating or showing questionable information. His signature was large blank areas on his maps where there was no reliable information, as in his Map of Africa, 1802. He also relentlessly updated his maps as new discoveries were made. View Arrowsmith Large Maps of Europe, Africa and Asia.   View All Arrowsmith Large Maps.  View Arrowsmith Family Atlases.

Star and Constellation Maps of the Heavens, 1693
Pardies, Ignace Gaston, Paris
Ignace Gaston Pardies created a series of six beautiful star and constellation maps in the late 17th century. All six map plates join together to make a unified view of the Heavens as seen from the Earth. Pardies drew the maps on the gnomonic projection which visualized the universe as a six-sided cube instead of a globe. This method allows for accurate measurement by straight lines between any point on the map. In order to assist users in visualizing various aspects of these star maps, we have georeferenced the maps in GIS and then joined them together, first as a cube, then as a globe, then in other projections, and in Google Earth - see our blog post on Pardies.  View Star Maps

Le Petit Atlas Maritime Recueil De Cartes et Plans Des Quatre Parties Du Monde, 1764
Bellin, Jacques Nicolas, Paris
The Petit Atlas Maritime is probably the best compilation of charts and plans of  maritime towns and harbors in the mid 18th century, with coverage of North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Its 582 maps in five volumes give a rare and comprehensive view of the maritime world with its coasts, cities, ports, islands, and estuaries. The Petit Atlas Maritime was Bellin's largest and most comprehensive work. The quality of the engraving is superb, and the accuracy of the information shown is excellent, based on all the reports, charts, letters, maps and other narratives that Bellin had access to as the chief chart maker for the French Depot de la Marine in Paris.  View Atlas

A Topographical Description of Such Parts of North America as are Contained in the (Annexed) Map of the Middle British Colonies, 1776
Pownall, Thomas; Evans, Lewis, London
This work contains an updated version of Lewis Evans' important 1755 "Map of the Middle British Colonies in North America," using the original plate engraved by James Turner with revisions and adding an eastern extension to cover New England; and Pownall's "Topographical Description" which describes the areas contained in the updated map; and six important appendices of writings by explorers in the region plus parts of Evans' original essay on his 1755 edition of the map. This copy of the Pownall belonged to Thomas Streeter (Streeter 826) and includes a rare 8 page prospectus for publishing the work that was printed in November, 1775. Henry Stevens ties Pownall's work directly to Evans, saying it "may be described as a new and much enlarged edition of both Evans' Map and his Analysis of 1755." Evans is considered "America's greatest eighteenth century cartographer" by Schwartz and Ehrenberg, and Pownall was hugely accomplished in pre-Revolutionary America, serving as Governor General of Massachusetts and traveling widely in the colonies in various roles in the British colonial administration. Pownall's map is considered the best updated edition of the Evans 1755 map, compared to the many later copies of Evans that were issued by Jefferys, Sayer, and others. In the prospectus, Pownall criticizes Jefferys' copy of Evans saying it "might as well be a map of the face of the moon."   View Map and Text

Outlines Of The World. By A. Arrowsmith, Hydrographer to His Majesty. London; Published Jany 4th 1825, by A. & S. Arrowsmith, No. 10, Soho Square, 1825
Arrowsmith, Aaron Jr. , London
Arron Arrowsmith senior died in 1823. This atlas was published in 1825 and dedicated to him by his son, Aaron Arrowsmith, Jr. The title page includes the only know portrait of the elder Arrowsmith. The maps are excellent, and are probably the best atlas format maps issued by the Arrowsmith family until the London Atlas of 1838 and 1844 by John Arrowsmith, the nephew of Aaron senior. It is interesting to compare these maps to the large scale maps that Arrowsmith published as wall maps and in composite atlases - many of them appear to be derived from the larger versions.  View Atlas

A Chorographical Map Of The Province Of New-York In North America, Divided into Counties, Manors, Patents and Townships, Exhibiting likewise all the private Grants of Land made and located in that Province; Compiled from Actual Surveys deposited in the Patent Office at New York, 1779
Sauthier, Claude Joseph; Faden, William, London
Four southern sheets of the six sheet map. Lacks the two northern sheets and the remaining four sheets are trimmed a few inches on the east and west sides - the owner was not interested in Vermont or Lake Erie! (see our reduced size issue of the complete map, also 1776). Otherwise, this is a superb copy of this extraordinary and rare map - the last and best of the large scale surveys of the American Colonies before the Revolution. Endless interesting detail.   View Map

Map Exhibiting The Experimental and Located Lines for the New-York and New-Haven Rail-Road ... Projected and Drawn by P. Anderson Civil Engr., 1845
Anderson, P., Manuscript
This is probably the pre-publication manuscript drawing for the final printed version of this map that was issued in the same year - see our copy of the printed map. It is twice the size and scale of the final printed version, and is beautifully hand drawn and colored. It is amazing that a map this large has survived outside of an institutional library for so long. Apparently it was kept in a family for several generations.  It shows the surveyed routes of the New York and New Haven Railroad from New Haven to New York City The line was opened in 1849. The map is unique for a railroad map in its huge size, large scale, elegance of drawing, and variety of information shown (houses, trails, rivers, turnpikes, lighthouses, harbors, hills, swamps, etc.).  View Manuscript Map   View Manuscript and Printed Map

147 Maps and Images from Pocket Maps and Guides, 1822 - 1936
Various Authors, Various Places
Continuing our digitizing of Pocket Maps and Guides, this group of maps covers a wide range of places, time periods and styles. Included is Eddy's 1839 Map of the Country 30 Miles round the City of New York (pictured left), an early Railroad Map of the United States from 1860, a strip Map of the Hudson River, 1848, an early oil region map - Map of the Oil District of Pennsylvania, 1865, mineral deposits shown on Holt's California and Newvada Map 1873, a detailed map of Mount Desert Island and coastal Maine, 1890. a Radio Map of the United States 1925, and a stunning 20th century Bird's Eye View of California from 1936.   View All Pocket Maps and Guides

A New Universal Atlas Containing Maps of the various Empires, Kingdoms, States and Republics Of The World. With a special map of each of the United States, Plans of Cities &c. Comprehended in seventy sheets and forming a series of One Hundred And Seventeen Maps, Plans And Sections ..., 1849
Mitchell, Samuel Augustus, Philadelphia
Continuing our plan to have every issue of Mitchell's New Universal Atlas from 1846 to 1859 online, this copy is the 1849 issue. The Oregon and Upper California map is enlarged to include all of New Mexico and New Mexico is added to the title. This is the last edition published by Mitchell, all later editions published by Thomas, Cowperthwait and Co. and Charles Desilver. View Atlas

View All Online Mitchell Universal Atlases - 1846, 1848, 1849, 1853, 1855, 1859

An Atlas of the World, Comprehending Separate Maps of its various Countries, Constructed & drawn from the latest Astronomical & Geographical Observations, 1864
Wyld, James, London.
A late edition of this atlas, published as early as 1836, and a successor to his father's (James Wyld, 1790-1836) 1824 General Atlas (see our copy). Several new maps of Australia and South Africa are added and the other maps have been updated to show railroad development. The American maps have been updated, but inadequately so in the West - the River Buenaventura is still flowing out of Salt Lake on the Mexico Map!  View Atlas

Map Of The Region Adjacent To The Bay Of San Francisco. State Geological Survey Of California, J.D. Whitney, State Geologist. The Coast, Rancho, Township and Section Lines from Materials furnished by the U.S. Coast Survey and the U.S. Surveyor General's Office, the Topography chiefly from Original Surveys by C.F. Hoffman, 1867
Hoffmann, Charles F.; Whitney, J.D.; Geological Survey of California, New York
This map is one of the earliest large scale maps of the entire San Francisco Bay area, made by the surveyors of the Geological Survey of California, under the direction of J.D. Whitney. It is the first edition of this map, and is interesting to compare to our second edition of 1873 to see changes in the rapidly growing settlements, roads, boundaries and newly documented features of the landscape.  Both editions were printed in New York City by the expert lithographic printer Julius Bien. This first edition copy was mounted as a wall map. It was used in c. 1887 court case for which a "Lewis Survey" of part of Las Positas Rancho was outlined in red (this is present on the map but faint in lettering and outline). View Map

11 U.S. County Atlases, 1865 - 1908
Various Authors, Various Places
Continuing our scanning of representative U.S. County Atlases from the 19th century, this group of 11 includes St. Lawrence County-New York, Saratoga County-New York, Strafford County-New Hampshire, Ogle County-Illinois, Portage County-Ohio, Beaver County-Pennsylvania, Warren County-Pennsylvania, Winnebago and Boone Counties-Illinois, Marion and Monongalia Counties-West Virginia, Gibson County-Indiana, and Rush County-Indiana. These atlases have county and city maps, views of towns, farms, and industries, portraits and biographies of county leaders, and historical entries.  View All County Atlases

Centennial Map Of The United States and Territories Showing the Extent of Public Surveys, Indian and Military Reservations...& Other Details, 1878
U.S. General Land Office, Washington
16 sheets plus index sheet. 2nd ed.(1876 1st ed). At head of title: 1876. Not listed in Wheat or most other references. Related to the Centennial Atlas of the United States published in 1876, although those maps were on a somewhat larger scale (1"=12 to 20 miles, vs 1"=20 miles for this). When joined, these sheets would make a map 8 feet tall by 12 feet wide.   View Map

Joint Maps Of The Northern Boundary Of The United States, From The Lake Of The Woods To The Summit Of The Rocky Mountains, 1878
U.S. Northern Boundary Commission; Campbell, A., Washington
To accompany Campbell's Report on the Boundary. Originally issued in unbound folio. the boundary between the United States and Canada was set by the Oregon Treaty of 1846 but the surveying of the boundary was interrupted by the Civil War and not completed until 1875. These maps are highly detailed and show many cultural features along the boundary. The lithographic work is excellent. View Maps

Log Of H.M.S. "Swiftsure" Bearing the (flag of) Rear Admiral H.M.L. Lyons commanded by Captain C. Mainwaring. C.F. Henderson, 1884
Mainwaring, C.; Henderson, C.F., Manuscript
This is a manuscript ship's log that begins to record a journey midway from Honolulu to Esquimalt in British Columbia, then down the west coast of the United States and the west coast of South America, around Cape Horn, and back to England. It begins in July, 1884 and ends in November, 1885. 16 beautifully drawn charts record the track of the steam and sail powered ship, showing stops in San Francisco, Mazatlan, San Blas, Valparaiso and Rio de Janeiro and other ports. Many drawings illustrate aspects of the ship and its equipment. The log itself records the weather and daily ship operations. An unusual highly illustrated document. Swiftsure is the name assigned to ten successive ships of the Royal (British) Navy, the first launched in 1573 and the most recent in 1971. This one was commissioned in 1871 and was the lead ship of the Swiftsure class battleships built in the late Victorian era. It operated under steam and sail and was ironclad. It was very fast for its time, 13.75 knots. It served as the Pacific Station flagship from 1882-1885 and 1888-1890. Renamed "Orontes" in 1901, she was scrapped in 1908. View Log Book

Pocket Mining Atlas. Compiled From The Latest Official Surveys, And The Most Authentic Sources.  Engineering and Mining Journal, 1880
Bolitho, Edwin, New York.
Scarce. 24 of the 27 maps are western mining maps. A miniature mining atlas with many western maps. Not in any of the standard collections or references. There are maps of western states and detailed maps of mining areas showing claims. All of the detailed claim maps (except Dahlonega District in Georgia) appear on the verso of the state maps in Bradstreet's Pocket Atlas of 1882 (see our copy). At the end of the atlas there is a note by the publisher stating that any of the maps can be supplied for any use (We assume that Bradstreet made use of this offer) and that additional maps will be provided in "the forthcoming edition." Was there another, expanded edition? Atlas is bound into burgandy leather covers with "Pocket Mining Atlas." stamped in gilt. View Atlas

34 Historic Topographic Maps of the Sierra Nevada by the United States Geological Survey, 1891 -  1951
USGS (U.S. Geological Survey). Washington, D.C.
These 34 maps show changes in parts of the Sierra Nevada Mountains over a 60 year period. Included are maps of Yosemite, Big Trees, Dardanelles, Mt. Whitney, Bridgeport, Sonora, Mt. Lyell, Hawthorne, and Mariposa. All the maps are at a scale of 1:125,000 so the detail is excellent. View USGS Maps

136 Wall Maps from the Collection of the University of California, Berkeley, Geography Department, 1900 - 2005
Various Publishers, Various Places
We recently entered into an agreement with the Geography Department at UC Berkeley to acquire over 600 of their 20th century wall maps of all parts of the world that are no longer used in teaching. In addition to digitizing those 600 maps, we agreed to digitize and put online a separate group of 156 wall maps retained by the Geography Departments that are still used in teaching - so that UC teachers and students could use the digitized maps in their presentations, lectures, and studies. And to be used and enjoyed by the general Internet public. The maps show the whole range of cartographic conventions used in the last 100 years. We have completed 136 of the 156 maps retained by UC and put them online now (we will complete the remaining 20 maps in that group plus the 600 we acquired in our next update). Highlights include the 1976 Floor of the Oceans by Tharp and Heezen, 1942 Rand McNally World Map for the Air Age, 1985 Bedrock Geology of the World by R.L. Larson, 1960 North and South Poles by Karl Wenschow, 1968 Mapa de Chile by the Institute Geografico Militar de Chile (pictured on left), 1979 Relief Map of California (a strange mash-up of a photograph of a plaster model of the state), 1966 Rio Grange Do Sul of Brazil by the Instituto Gaucho de Reforma Agraria, the stunning relief Map of Asia by Klett-Perthes, and the beautiful U.S. State Relief Maps by Allan Cartography.  Because some of these maps are still being actively printed and sold by the publishers, we allow viewing only for those maps and give links to the websites where more recent versions of the maps are available.  View All Wall Maps

Maps and Photographs from the Yosemite Guide Books, 1868 - 1874
Geological Survey of California, New York, Cambridge.
6 different editions of the first guide books of Yosemite Valley, including the first edition of 1868 with 24 original photographs by Carlton Watkins (later this year we will be adding a book reader of the entire 1868 Yosemite Guide Book). The guide books were the result of a government survey of Yosemite begun in 1863 under the direction of Josiah Dwight Whitney, the State Geologist, with Clarence King and James T. Gardner in the surveying party, and Carleton Watkins as the primary photographer. Charles Hoffman and William Brewer were other key team members. Josiah Dwight Whitney’s and the California Geological Survey’s Yosemite guide books were an early effort to domesticate the Sierra, to make the range accessible through scientific knowledge and reliable travel information. View Yosemite Guide Books

Allgemeiner Schulatlas, 1825
Ruhle von Lilienstern, August, Berlin
Remarkable for "the most fantasy-rich title page to be found in any German atlas" (Espenhorst). This atlas was "expressly designed for use in the schools" and was ahead of its time in depicting hydrography and topography without place names and cultural or political features. The author's motivation was to use an effective presentation style for surface terrain. The rendering of relief was particularly innovative and precedent setting. This is also one of the earliest lithographic atlases.  View Atlas

216 Maps and Images from Pocket Maps, 1825 - 1920
Various Authors, Various Places
95 years of pocket maps covering state maps, country maps, county maps, city maps, a cemetery map, U.S. civil war maps, oil district maps, gold mine maps, historical events maps, and an extraordinary map of  Niagara Falls.     View Pocket Maps

12 U.S. County Atlases, 1864 - 1890
Various Authors, Various Places
Continuing our scanning of representative U.S. County Atlases from the 19th century, this group of 12 includes Jefferson County, New York,  Montgomery and Fulton Counties, New York, Rutland County, Vermont, Cumberland County, Maine, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Schuyler County, New York, Wayne County, Indiana, LaPorte County, Indiana, Montgomery County, Illinois, Yates County, New York, Auglaize County, Ohio, and Columbia County, Wisconsin. These atlases have county and city maps, views of towns, farms, and industries, portraits and biographies of county leaders, and historical entries.  View All Atlases

The Times Atlas of the World. Mid-Century Edition, 1959
Bartholomew, John , Boston and London
Published in 5 volumes, 1955-1959, with 122 colored double page map sheets, and a comprehensive index of over 200,000 names. Because of the long production times involved in the work of compiling the detailed maps, the volumes were arranged in continental groupings with volume III, North Europe, coming out first, followed by another volume each year. V.1. The World, Australasia & East Asia --V.2. South-West Asia & Russia --V.3. Northern Europe --V.4. Southern Europe & Africa --V.5. The Americas. with an Index-Gazetteer. We have created 18 composite maps from maps of continents and countries at the same large scale - they offer far more detail than the original maps of similar coverage and smaller scale  in the atlas.  View Atlas

Atlas of the United States Printed for the Use of the Blind, 1837
Howe, Samuel Gridley; Ruggles, Samuel P., Boston
The Atlas of the United States Printed for the Use of the Blind was published in 1837 for children at the New England Institute for the Education of the Blind in Boston. Without a drop of ink in the book, the text and maps in this extraordinary atlas were embossed heavy paper with letters, lines, and symbols. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first atlas produced for the blind to read without the assistance of a sighted person. Braille was invented by 1825, but was not widely used until later. The atlas includes 24 state maps with a page of text describing each state and the symbols used on the maps. In our scans, we have lit the maps and text pages from one side to create shadows that reveal the embossing. View Atlas

Read our blog post on this atlas

Maps of U.S. States and Territories, 1876 - 1944
U.S.. General Land Office, Washington, D.C.
24 maps from the U.S. General Land Office show official surveys of states and territories in the U.S. west. Military forts, Indian Reservations, railroad development, early county formations are all shown. 10 maps show Arizona Territory from 1896 to 1910.  View Maps

The Peoples' Pictorial Atlas. Being A Complete And Popular Account Of All The Countries Of The World, In Their Geographical, Statistical, Topographical And Commercial Aspects, 1873
Jones, C.H.; Hamilton, T.H.; Williams, J.David, New York
Maps by Rogers and Johnston, and Weller. This atlas is similar to the Hardesty edition of 1875, but on thinner paper. J. David Williams is sometimes considered to be the author, but Phillips lists this under Jones and Hamilton. The North American maps, with the exception of the New England states and New York and Pennsylvania, are updated reissues of the maps used in Rogers and Johnston 1857 Atlas of the United States, although they are often configured in different groups, indicating that they were copied from the 1869 third edition of the Rogers and Johnston U.S. wall map that is from the same earlier plates, but updated, that the 1857 atlas was made from (see our #5402). With 7 pages of interesting views. View Atlas

A General Atlas, Containing Maps illustrating some important periods in Ancient History; and distinct Maps of the several Empires, Kingdoms and States In The World, From Original Drawings according to the latest Treaties, 1824
Wyld, James, 1790-1836; Thomson, John, Edinburgh
This is the second edition and includes the extra map of the Arctic and two extra maps of Australia. The text adds a section on Voyages of Discovery. Two additional maps are laid in, one of South America, the other of Mexico.  View Atlas

A New Universal Atlas Containing Maps of the various Empires, Kingdoms, States and Republics Of The World. With a special map of each of the United States, Plans of Cities &c. Comprehended in seventy five sheets and forming a series of One Hundred And Twenty Two Maps, Plans And Sections, 1853
Mitchell, Samuel Augustus, Philadelphia
Continuing our plan to have every issue of Mitchell's New Universal Atlas from 1846 to 1859 online, this copy is the 1853 issue. We also have online the 1846, 1848, 1855, and 1859 issues. Title page has a full color illustration of the First Landing of Columbus in the New World. California map now shows counties throughout. Bound in half leather marbled paper covered boards with label stamped in gold reading "Mitchell's Universal Atlas." View 1853 Atlas   View All Mitchell Universal Atlases

(Six Ethnographic Maps to Accompany the Natural History of Man). Second Edition, 1867
Prichard, James Cowles, London
The six ethnographic maps to accompany Prichard's Natural History of Man were published separately and at different dates from the text volumes. The maps are: Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, and Polynesia. Each map is titled "Ethnographic Map of (Continent) In the Earliest Times Illustrative of Dr. Prichard's Natural History of Man and His Researches into the Physical History of Mankind. Second Edition, 1861." Sheets loose. View Maps

Mitchell's New Atlas Of The United States And Territories, Together With Plans Of The Principal Cities. Designed To Accompany And Illustrate The Centennial Gazetteer Of The United States, 1874
Mitchell, S. Augustus, Ziegler & McCurdy, Philadelphia
The special "propeller" border Mitchell Atlas - all the maps have this unique border not found in any other Mitchell Atlases. The title says this atlas was "Designed To Accompany And Illustrate The Centennial Gazetteer Of The United States," also published, we assume, by Ziegler & McCurdy, although we can find no reference to it. The maps in the atlas are sometimes unique issues, different from the maps found in the Mitchell General Atlas of either 1874, 1875, or 1873. Only maps of the United States are included, except for three World maps. View Atlas

(Atlas volume only to accompany the) Histoire de la Guerre Civile en Amerique par M. Le Comte de Paris, Ancien Aide de Camp du General Mac Clellan, 1883
Various Publishers, Various Places
These 30 maps were made by Vorzet to accompany Louis Phillipe d'Orleans' (Comte de Paris) multivolume "Histoire de la Guerre Civile en Amérique". The set includes two (of three) of the original fascicle covers (this was issued in parts, and often bound later). The first fascicle was from 1874. The fascicles were issued to accompany vols. 1-2, 3-4. and 5-6 respectively of the "Histoire." The Comte de Paris was a pretender to the throne of France, and expatriate, working as an aide-de-camp to the Union Gen. George MacClellan (McClellan). He eventually settled in England. Pub Date is the latest date of the maps published over time for this series. Looseleaf in two (of the original three) paper light green fascicles. Maps are color; chromolithographs. The atlas was provided for digitization by Joel Kovarsky, and has since been donated to the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library of the University of Virginia. View Atlas

Adams' Synchronological Chart of Universal History. Through the Eye to the Mind. A Chronological chart of Ancient, Modern and Biblical History, Synchronized by Sebastian C. Adams. Third Edition and Twelfth-Thousand carefully and critically revised and brought down to 1878, (1881)
Adams, Sebastian C., New York
A huge and impressive twenty three foot long chart showing 5,885 years of history, from 4004 B.C.. to 1881 A.D. First issued in 1871, Adams put out several editions in many formats. Rosenberg and Grafton in "Cartographies of Time" say that as a timeline, Adams Synchronological Chart "was ninetheenth-century America's surpassing achievement in complexity and synthetic power. View Timeline

Read our blog post on this and many other timeline maps.

Uebersichts-Karte der Eisenbahnen Deutschlands bearbeitet im Reichs-Eisenbahn-Amt. 1893
Deutschland. Reichs-Eisenbahn-Amt, Berlin
Color railway map of German Empire. With six inset maps. Shows railroads, roads, rivers, sea, etc. Map is backed and folded into textured dark green cloth cover, with "Uebersichts-Karte der Eisenbahnen Deutschlands bearbeitet im Reichs-Eisenbahn-Amt . 1893. Massstab 1:1000000. Verlag von Max Pasch, Kgl. Hofbuchh. Berlin SW., Ritter-Strasse No. 50." stamped in gilt. View Map

This map relates to our Karte des Deutschen Reiches, 1893

140 Separate, Broadside, Real Estate, and Manuscript Maps,  1776 - 1944
Various Authors, Various Places
An eclectic group of maps including maps of the California Gold Rush, San Francisco, parts of Madison's rare map of Virginia 1807/1818, various real estate maps, Sauthier's 1776 Map of the Province of New York, and early Massachusetts town maps. 

View All 140 Maps

Geography Epitomiz'd. Of The Stars And Planets. Of The Sun And Moon. Of the Air and Meteors. The Terms of Geography Explain'd., 1733
Bowles, Thomas; Bowles, John, London
A remarkable series of cartouches and tables present the summary of geographic and cosmological information. Includes text and list of continents, countries, capital cities, and their coordinates. A very early example of information visualization. View Map

Map of the United States, Exhibiting the Post-Roads, the situations, connexions and distances of the Post-Offices, Stage Roads, Counties & Principal Rivers, 1805
Bradley, Abraham Junior, Washington, D.C.
Abraham Bradley published the best maps showing in detail the roads used to move the U.S. mail in the late 18th and early 19th century. This copy is the 2nd edition or state of this map, with printed date of 1804 but with estimated date of 1805 based on the naming of Michigan Territory which was formed in 1805. View Map

A New Juvenile Atlas, And Familiar Introduction To The Use Of Maps: With A Comprehensive View Of The Present State Of The Earth, 1814
Melish, John, Philadelphia
This is Melish's first school atlas, followed in 1816, 1818, and 1820 by Melish's Universal School Atlas which uses seven of these maps, omitting England, Scotland, and Ireland, and adding a Hemispherical World Map (see our 4519.000 for the 1820 edition). Melish based this atlas on Laurie and Whittle's atlas of the same title published in London in 1808, but added many "improvements" for the American edition. Melish states: "In the present edition, the maps and geography...have been carefully revised and improved; and the American part has been much altered, in consequence of the revolutions that have taken place in that quarter. These additions will, it is hoped, render the work an acceptable offering to the American public, particularly to youth, whose improvement in the pleasing and important study of geography is the earnest desire of the publishers..."  View Atlas

Eight manuscript maps: New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Delaware, Vermont, View of the Country ‘Round Pittsburg, View of the Country ‘Round Zanesville, East End of Lake Ontario, 1816
Bringhurst, William.
The state maps are dated 1816; the other three maps are undated. The Ontario, Pittsburgh and Zanesville maps are copied from similar maps that appear in Melish's "Geographical Description," most likely the 1820 or 22 edition because of the rounded corners which do not appear in the earlier editions of 1815 and 16. The state maps are copied from Scott's Gazetteer of 1795. The penmanship is very good. All maps in outline color. Relief shown by hachures and shadings. View Maps

A General Atlas, Being A Collection Of Maps Of The World And Quarters, Their Principal Empires, Kingdoms, &c. Containing Fifty Eight Maps And Charts, 1816
Carey, Mathew; Warner, Benjamin, Philadelphia
The maps in this atlas result from a collaboration between Carey and Warner, using maps from their prior publications. This was probably published in a small edition and was an attempt to serve the market with a cheaper and smaller version of the folio General Atlas by Carey. This atlas is not listed in any of the references; we are aware of only four copies. View Atlas

A New General Atlas, Constructed from the latest Authorities, By A. Arrowsmith, Hydrographer to the Prince Regent, Exhibiting The Boundaries And Divisions, Also The Chains of Mountains and other Geographical Features Of All The Known Countries In The World, 1817
Arrowsmith, Aaron, London
This is the first edition of Arrowsmith atlas published in 1817. Although the maps are not large, they are dense with information. This complete atlas features 53 copperplate maps, drawn by Arrowsmith and engraved by Sidney Hall, with a few engraved by Thomson in collaboration with Hall. View Atlas

Ancient Geography, As Connected With Chronology, And Preparatory to the Study of Ancient History By Emma Willard (with) A System of Universal Geography, On The Principles of Comparison and Classification; By William Channing Woodbridge ... Illustrated With Maps and Engravings; And Accompanied by an Atlas, 1824
Willard, Emma, Hartford
Willard did not yet have an atlas to accompany her Ancient Geography - she first issued that atlas in 1827. Of particular interest is the plate "Progress Of The Roman Empire, Illustrated By The course Of The River Amazon" in which Willard uses the course of the Amazon and its tributaries to make a time chart of the Roman Empire. Woodbridge and Willard discovered that they shared similar approaches to teaching geography and so decided to collaborate on this book. View Book

Twelve Broadsides and Maps Illustrating The U.S. Mexican War, 1846 to 1855
Various Publishers, Various Places
This groups of maps and broadsides show the progress and battles of the U.S. Mexican conflict and the aftermath. Several of the broadsides are highly decorative with maps, views, portraits, and tables of text.  View Maps

A New Map Of California, 1852
Gibbes, C.D., Stockton, California
Early state map, inaccurate yet elegant. Graphically, it is exceptionally well done. Wheat: "This was the most elaborate map of California that had yet appeared. It is beautifully designed and drawn, and includes a large number of the mining towns, though it cannot be entirely commended for accuracy." A portion of this map was published as Gibbes' New Map of the Gold Region in California, 1851, which was also issued in the Stockton Directory and Emigrant's Guide to the Southern Mines.  View Map

A New Universal Atlas Containing Maps of the various Empires, Kingdoms, States and Republics Of The World. With a special map of each of the United States, Plans of Cities &c. Comprehended in seventy five sheets and forming a series of One Hundred And Twenty Nine Maps, Plans And Sections, 1855
Mitchell, Samuel Augustus, Philadelphia
Early 1855 edition. Color lithographed title page. This copy belonged to Judah Chase (with his name gold stamped on the cover) who was a noted Blue Hill, Maine, Sea Captain and owner of the Brig Thomas M. Lyon. This ship sailed from Havre, France, at the end of March, 1836, and sank in a heavy gale off the Island of Jersey - but the crew was saved. The fine condition of this atlas suggests that it remained in Captain Chase's library and never went to sea. View Atlas

Thirty Maritime Charts, 1800 to 1907
Various Publishers, Various Places
This group of sea charts ranges from the west coast of South America to Cape Cod to San Francisco Bay.  Most are by the U.S. Coast Survey. View Charts

Thirty Seven Maps to Accompany the Reports of the General Land Office, 1951 to 1876
U.S. General Land Office, Washington D.C.
A group of very early General Land Office surveys showing Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, New Mexico and the United States. View Maps

Ten United States County Atlases, 1862 to 1885
Various Publishers, Various Places
Includes the first county atlas published in the U.S., Berks County, Pennsylvania. Also, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; Franklin County, Pennsylvania; Androscoggin County, Maine; Steuben County, New York; Saint John City and County, New Brunswick, Canada; Logan County, Ohio; Daviess County, Kentucky; Leavenworth County, Kansas; and Cedar County, Iowa. All include maps, views, directories, and other information considered useful at the time. View Atlases

Two Editions of Johnson's New Illustrated (Steel Plate) Family Atlas, With Physical Geography, And With Descriptions Geographical, Statistical, And Historical, 1864 and 1870
Johnson, A.J., New York
The 1864 and the 1870 editions of Johnson's world atlases, showing the United States during the U.S. Civil War and after it. View Atlases

Illustrated Atlas Of The City Of Richmond, Va., 1876
Beers, F.W., No Place
A scarce atlas of Richmond a decade after the end of the Civil War. Wonderful detail on buildings and their owners, parks and public buildings. This copy is undated on the title page, but dated 1876 on the original front cover. A second edition was published in 1877. The index calls for seven views of Richmond that are not present in this copy and appear to never have been bound in, indicating that some copies were issued without the views (a common practice among the Beers). We have made two large composite maps of Richmond and Manchester. View Atlas

Royal Relief Atlas of All Parts of the World. Consisting of 31 Maps, With Physical, Political, and Statistical Descriptions facing each Map, 1880
Sonnenschein, W. Swan; Allen; Bevan, G.P., London
Raised relief maps. The maps are presented flat and a second copy with raised relief accomplished by embossing the paper. First edition, followed by editions in (1881) and 1885. Similar (perhaps copied from) to Woldermann's relief atlas in German. Phillips attributes this to G.P. Bevan. View Atlas

Department of the Interior, Census Office. Sixteen Maps Accompanying Report On Forest Trees Of North America, 1884
Sargent, C.S., New York
Loose in a folio. 10th census information. Show distribution of trees and types of trees. None of this information appears in any of the census atlases. Maps are printed in color and loose in plaid paper covered boards with cloth ties and a label printed with the above title. View Maps

Atlas of Global Geography. 1944
Raisz, Erwin, New York
On the jacket it states that this is an "entirely new kind of atlas - A beautiful and informative book of 'global' maps, giving a plane's-eye view of tomorrow's geography..." Inside dust jacket's back cover: short biography of Dr. Edwin Raisz, Photo by Bacharch. Raisz perfected a unique style of hand drawn cartography that was a great contribution to 20th century cartography. More information about him may be found at www. raiszmaps.com. Maps in color. With paper dust jacket. View Atlas

Look At The World: The Fortune Atlas For World Strategy, 1944
Harrison, Richard Edes, New York
Richard Harrison produced in this remarkable atlas a unique view of the world for the "air age." These maps are precursors of our ubiquitous satellite maps of today, yet hand drawn with great cartographic skill. View Atlas

Atlas of Florida, 1964
Raisz, Erwin, Gainesville
Maps in full color, many thematic. Raisz perfected a unique style of hand drawn cartography that was a great contribution to 20th century cartography. More information about him may be found at www.raiszmaps.com At the back of the book is a fold-out road map of Florida. Covers are dark green marbled paper covered cardboard 36x27 with title "Atlas of Florida by Erwin Raisz and associates with text by John R. Dunkle. Prepared in the Department of Geography, University of Florida. University of Florida Press, Gainesville." View Atlas

A Series of Maps to Willard's History of the United States, 1829
Willard, Emma, New York
Emma Willard's maps in this school atlas are some of the earliest published maps depicting historical events in the formation of the United States. The maps are thematic and very well drawn. Emma Willard was an  important teacher and school leader in the first half of the 19th century in the U.S. She believed that girls and young women should study geography and maps and this atlas is part of her many published school texts that further those goals. View Atlas

Report Upon The Colorado River of the West, Explored in 1857 and 1858,  1861
Ives, J.C., v. Ecloffstein, F.W., Washington, D.C.
Originally we put online only the maps from this report, now we have added all the plates and images by Mullhausen, Egloffstein and others. This is the scarce Senate issue with four maps by "Baron" Egloffstein. Egloffstein used a unique engraving process to achieve a superb rendering of topographical features; he used the same technique in the map he drew for Macomb's Report. Of the maps in Ives's Report Wheat said "The two maps were drawn by F.W. Egloffstein...the first...is one of his best." Rare in this form with the two additional geological maps in color wash. These only appear in the Senate issue. They are the same as the two "normal" maps that appear in the House and Senate issue, but they have colors overlaid to show geological formations. View Report

Atlas Of Long Island, New York,  1873
Beers, F.W., New York
One of the rarer Beers New York area atlases. View Atlas

A Hieroglyphic Geography Of The United States. Part 1 Containing The States Of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut And New York, 1875
Heermans, Anna A.; Cogswell, Charlotte B., New York
This atlas contains very small state maps filled with "Hieroglyphic" illustrations and views for each state, followed by a page of text. The text pages decode the "Hieroglyphic" images and text on the maps. Unusual use of maps, text, and image to teach geographical information. Apparently there are additional parts (not present here) that cover other states in the U.S. View Atlas

Composite Image and Sheets 502 to 674, Karte des Deutschen Reiches, 1893 (various dates, 1880 to 1910)
Reichsamt fur Landesaufnahme, Germany
Our project of scanning and putting online the 674 sheets of the Karte des Deutschen Reich, 1893, is completed - this addition adds the last 346 map images and increases the size of the large composite image to all 674 maps (the image is 390 GB, 401,000 x 332,000 pixels, downloadable as georeferenced 3.6GB JP2). View Composite Map

Report of the Exploring Expedition From Santa Fe, New Mexico, To The Junction of the Grand and Green Rivers of the Great Colorado of the West, In 1859, Published in 1876
Macomb, J.N.; Newberry, J.S.;Egloffstein, F.W. von, Washington D.C.
We have added the illustrations and plates by J.N. Newberry to the Egloffstein map, which Wheat calls "one of the most beautiful maps ever published by the Army." Egloffstein made his map in 1864. The publication of the map and the report were delayed by the Civil War. View Report

Historical Atlas Map Of Marion & Linn Counties Oregon, 1878
Williams, Edgar., San Francisco
This is the only county atlas made of an Oregon county in the 19th century. Its maps and views are very similar in style to those in the Thompson and West California county atlases. The Edgar Williams Company published no other atlases. View Atlas

Illustrated Historical Atlas Of The Province Of Prince Edward Island, 1880
Meacham, J.H. & Co.; Allen, C.R., Philadelphia
With views, portraits, a list of patrons of the atlas, and land ownership maps. Provincial atlases of the Canadian Maritime Provinces are scarce. View Atlas

Arbuckles' Illustrated Atlas of Fifty Principal Nations of The World. 1890
Arbuckle Bros., New York
Exquisite illustrations and brilliant color. The maps were also issued as individual cards with the coffee products. Maps surrounded by representative scenes from each country. Paper covers and bound with string on the left-hand side. Arbuckle Bros. also issued an Illustrated Atlas of the United States in 1889   View Atlas

Composite Image and Sheets 1 to 164, San Francisco Aerial Views, 1938
Ryker, Harrison, Oakland
We have completed the Composite Image and put online a set of 164 spectacular, large format, sharp, black and white vertical aerial photographs partially overlapping images covering San Francisco in 1938. Resolution generally better than one foot and much higher with high contrast features. Handwritten date on index map indicates photographs taken in August, 1938. Owned by the San Francisco Public Library. View Composite Image in Luna Browser. View Composite Image and Views 1-164 in Luna Browser. View Composite Image or Index in Google Earth Browser. View Composite Image or Index in Google Earth Application. 

The "Chevalier" Commercial, Pictorial and Tourist Map of San Francisco From Latest U.S. Gov. and Official Surveys, 1915
Chevalier, August, San Francisco
A map of San Francisco showing important buildings which are drawn in vignettes on the map. Also showing public improvement described in the Legend as Car Lines. Proposed Tunnels ... Railroads. At the bottom of the map is the publisher's statement "The Exposition City 1915" Full color map bound in brown card board covers with title " 'Chevalier' Illustrated Map & Guide Of San Francisco ( The Exposition City)." With Stamp "Panama-Pacific -International. Exposition. San Francisco California 1915," with the exposition building delineated just west of Fort Mason. Title hows Chevalier's Trade Mark vignette. This is a reduced size version of the wall map published in 1911 and 1915 and is also a reduced version of the pocket map edition of 1904.   View Map

World Geo-graphic Atlas, A Composite of Man's Environment. Geography, Geology, Demography, Astronomy, Climatology, Economics, 1953
Bayer, Herbert; Container Corporation of America, Chicago
Lavishly illustrated with drawings and graphics. Editor and designer Herbert Bayer (1900-1985) was prominent in the Bauhaus movement and personally did considerable map research for the atlas. This clear and concise volume relies upon an attractive juxtaposition of physical and political maps, text, thematic maps, illustrations, cross-sections, graphs, and diagrams. Many of the graphics are truly original yet demonstrative of important concepts.From the Preface: "This book is called "WORLD GEO-GRAPHIC ATLAS" because it includes, in addition to GEO-graphic maps, many GRAPHIC illustrations of subjects closely related to modern geography." The atlas demonstrated the post-World War II geopolitical and economic situation.  The international maps of this English language atlas are from the Instituto Geografico di Agostini. Maps of the U.S. are by Rand McNally and Company. Relief shown as combined hachures, shaded relief, and hypsometric tints; bathymetry also tinted. Many insets of the vicinities of urban areas. View Atlas

Pocket Maps, various dates 1824 to 1962
Various Authors
Pocket maps were a popular form of map publishing in the 19th and 20th centuries. Maps typically folded into covers that were small enough to carry in one's pocket. Most of the atlas publishers issued their maps in atlas form as well as pocket maps.  The map covers often have interesting information including signatures of owners, dates, catalogs and indexes. Later in the 20th century the maps became self folding, typically as automobile road maps or travel maps.

View Pocket Maps

Official Map of Chinatown in San Francisco, 1885
A.L. Bancroft, San Francisco
Map details the various districts in San Francisco's Chinatown: Chinese occupancy, gambling, prostitution, opium resorts, joss houses (temples or shrines), and white prostitution. Copy from the San Francisco Public Library. View Map

Cram's Standard American Atlas Of The World, 1889
Cram, George Franklin , Chicago
The title page claims that the maps show "the true locations of all railroads, towns, villages and post offices that have a name or contain a store." The railroad maps are very detailed. The statistical diagrams are imaginative. View Atlas

Composite Image, Sheets 1 to 501, Karte des Deutschen Reiches, 1893 (various dates, 1880 to 1910)
Reichsamt fur Landesaufnahme, Germany
Our project of scanning and putting online the 674 sheets of the Karte des Deutschen Reich, 1893, is nearing completion - this addition adds another 325 map images and increases the size of the large composite image to 501 maps (the image is 236 GB, 380,000 x 213,000 pixels). View Composite Map

Cram's Standard American Railway System Atlas Of The World, 1901
Cram, George Franklin , Chicago
This atlas has some of Cram's best maps of the U.S. and world. A large number of U.S. cities are mapped. View Atlas

Insurance Maps of San Francisco, 1905
Sanborn-Perris Map Company, New York
A rare 6 volume San Francisco Sanborn Insurance Atlas showing the city as it was just months before the great earthquake and fire of 1906 has been added to the map site in collaboration with the San Francisco Public Library which owns the atlas and keeps it in its San Francisco History Center at the main library branch. The atlas was published in 1899/1900 and was updated manually several times by the publisher, the Sanborn-Perris Map Company of New York, with the last updates done in the fall of 1905. The 6 atlas volumes show the city in great detail, with building shape, height, construction materials, and many other details typical of fire insurance atlases of the period. Apparently the volumes were never updated after the earthquake and fire (except for a few small 1908 updates) because the atlas was damaged in the fire with some loss to the edges (as can be seen from the map images). View Atlas

Golden Gate International Exposition (1939 World's Fair). Treasure Island. San Francisco, Calif.
Sanborn Map Company,.San Francisco
Detailed insurance map of buildings and layout of fair grounds for the 1939 World's Fair on San Francisco's Treasure Island. The map is heavily annotated (in pencil).  Detailed legend. Includes diagram of water system valve control assembly by the main gate. Copy from the San Francisco Public Library. View Map

Colton's General Atlas, various dates, 1865, 1866, 1869, 1974, 1886
Colton, G.W., New York
Five editions (1865, 1866, 1869, 1874, 1886) of an important world atlas published yearly from 1856 to 1888 by the Colton family of cartographers in New York City. The 1865 edition includes a gift letter from publisher J.H. Colton to his friend Reverend Edmond Taylor of Brooklyn, New York. The 1874 edition has the publisher's original canvas slip dust cover. In addition to these issues, we also have online the 1856 first edition, the 1857 variant edition (Advertising Atlas of America), and the 1859 variant, Colton's Cabinet Atlas (also viewable as a BookReader flip book).

View Five New Colton Atlases 

View all Eight Colton Atlases

Schonberg's Standard Atlas Of The World, 1865 and Schonberg's Atlas of the United States, 1867
Schonberg & Company, New York
Two editions, 1865 and 1867, of an unusual atlas of the world and the United States, published in New York. Schonberg used very bright colors and striking designs on the maps and charts. View Atlases

Composite Images of all Wheeler Survey Topographical, Geological, and Land Classification Atlas Sheets, 1876 (various dates)
Wheeler, George M, Washington, D.C.
The map images are joined and projected in GIS on a conic projection with the central meridian at 111 degrees west - matching the original projection of the Wheeler Survey.  View All Composites in Luna Browser 
View Topographical Sheets in Google Earth 
View Geological Sheets in Google Earth 
View Land Classification Sheets in Google Earth

Karte des Deutschen Reiches, 1893 (various dates, 1880 to 1910)
Reichsamt fur Landesaufnahme, Germany
In 1878, the states of Prussia, Saxony, Bavaria, and Wurttemberg (the areas of modern day Germany, Luxembourg, Poland, and Kaliningrad, and part of Lithuania) agreed to map their areas on a 1:100,000 scale in a common topographic grid survey consisting of 674 sheets.  We have completed scanning of the first 338 sheets, shown here, with the remaining 336 sheets to be added in the next update. These maps are remarkable for the level of fine detail. The series is known as the KDR-100 (German General Staff map). The mapping continued until 1945, so most sheets were revised at least once. Our collection copies strongly trends toward the earliest editions. View Maps Individually or as a composite of sheets 1-138 in Google Earth or in Luna Browser (composite will grow with later additions)

Atlante Geografico de Agostini, 1952
Instituto Geographico di Agostini, Novarra
Instituto di Agostini is known for the beautiful maps and atlases it produced. This may be a proof copy of their "Atlante Geografico de Agostini" or intended to accompany an encyclopedia or text, because it is bound into simple plain covers and lacks a title page and index. The thematic maps of this atlas are especially interesting and elegant in design. View Atlas

Shell Atlas of Automobile Road Maps, 1956
Shell Oil Company, Chicago San Jose
This is a bound set of 92 doubled sided (making 184 map images) automobile road maps covering the entire United States, Canada, and Mexico. This atlas was bound for use by the staff of the San Francisco Examiner newspaper. Each map was originally published as a separate roadmap distributed at Shell gas (filling) stations. Every map bears the Shell logo and a complete legend and sometimes the statement, "Current at date of publication, but subject to change." View Maps

A Map of the British Empire in America with the French and Spanish Settlements adjacent thereto, 1746
Popple, Henry, London
This is a full color atlas edition of Popple's twenty sheet map.  This edition was sold by Stephen Austin Bookseller and Thomas Willdey in London. Compare this later edition (1746) with our first edition (1733) atlas. View Atlas and BookReader

22 Wall Maps, 1813 - 1882
Various Authors
A group of wall maps ranging from Warren and Gillet's Connecticut 1813, to Berghaus' World on Mercator's Projection, 1882. View Maps

Carey's General Atlas, 1818
Carey, Mathew, Philadelphia
Third and last edition of Carey's General Atlas. There is a Preface to the third edition, dated June 18, 1818. View Atlas

2 Maps of the United States of Nth. America, Map of Mexico and Louisiana, 1812 - 1820
Tardieu, P.F., Paris
Three multi-sheet maps by the French cartographer P.F. Tardieu: United States of North America 1812 and 1820, and Mexico and Louisiana, 1820.Tardieu used Arrowsmith's maps as his sources, but added much new information and employed an elegant style of engraving. View Maps

View all Tardieu maps of North America.

Mappe Monde en deux Hemispheres presentant L'Etat Acuel de La Geographie, 1820
Brue, A.H., 1820
Large map of the world in four sheets plus a title sheet. Includes "Avertissement" commenting on the accuracy of the map, and "Observation" commenting on the projection referencing the 1794 map by Arrowsmith. View Map

A New General Atlas, 1824
Finley, Anthony, Philadelphia
The first edition of this important American atlas. Finley produced many editions of this atlas up to 1834.  Most of the atlas maps were also issued as pocket maps. At the end of the atlas there is an advertisement for Finley's Map of the United States. View Atlas

3 Composite Maps of North and South America, 1827
Vanermaelen, Phillip, Paris
These three composite maps of Vandermaelen's 119 sheets of North and South America were created by georeferncing the sheets in GIS, using a polyconic projection similar to Vandermaelen's projection, then combining the sheets using the program Global Mapper which also trimmed the sheets to allow compositing. The result gives a view of Vandermaelen's sheets that is not possible with the atlas presentation but is similar to the large 7.75 meter diameter globe that Vandermaelen created from the atlas sheets and displayed in Brussels. View Maps

View Entire Vandermaelen World Atlas 1827

Atlas of Physical Geography, 1850
Petermann, Augustus; Milner, Thomas, London
From the full title: "With Descriptive Letter-Press, Embracing A General View Of The Physical Phenomena Of The Globe. By The Rev. Thomas Milner, M.A., F.R.G.S. ... Illustrated by One Hundred and Thirty Vignettes on Wood." View Atlas and BookReader

Reports upon the Pacific Wagon Roads, 1859
Campbell, Albert, Philadelphia
Six maps show various wagon roads developed by the U.S. government in the late 1850"s: a map of the route from Fort Ridgely in Minnesota to Fort Lookout on the western side of the Missouri River in Nebraska; two maps showing the Western Division of the Fort Kearney South Pass and Honey Lake Road; two maps that begin in El Paso, Texas and continue through Arizona, north of Tucson and San Xavier del Bac to the Pimo Villages on the Gila River; and a map of the Wagon-Road from Platte River via Omaha Reserve and Dakota City to Running Water River, along the Missouri River. View Maps

Johnson's New Illustrated (Steel Plate) Family Atlas, 1865
Johnson, A.J., New York
Late 1865 edition. From Title Page: "The New Plates, Copyrighted by A. J. Johnson, are made exclusively for Johnson's New Illustrated Family Atlas. Others are the same as Used in Colton's General Atlas." Adds a double page map of "Nebraska, Dakota, Idaho and Montana" that also shows Wyoming - this is a newly drawn map. This is the first appearance of Wyoming on a map (Resor). View Atlas

Report Upon The Removal of Blossom Rock, San Francisco Harbor, 1870
Williamson, R.S.; Heuer, W.H., Washington, D.C.
Story of the demolition of Blossom Rock, a maritime navigational hazard in San Francisco Bay midway between Alcatraz Island and Yerba Buena Island. View Book and BookReader

Map Of The Region Adjacent To The Bay Of San Francisco, 1873
Hoffmann, Charles F.; Whitney, J.D.; Geological Survey of California, New York
An important detailed map of the San Francisco bay area by the Geographical Survey of California under J.D. Whitney. Julius Bien of New York did the engraving and printing. C.F. Hoffmann was the prinicpal topographer; 1st issue was 1867. No mention of the 1873 date in any references. Two sheets printed on thin paper, folded into green covers. Outline color.  View Map

Gray's Atlas Of The United States, 1874
Gray, Ormando Willis, Philadelphia
Late 1874 issue - the extra double page Oregon, California and Nevada map is undated and the inset map of the Bay Area shows a new railroad from Benicia, and other railroads projected. However, we cannot find any other changes from the early 1874 issue. This edition was made for the California market, with the extra map of Sacramento and the map of Oregon, California and Nevada.  View Atlas

The National Atlas. Containing Elaborate Topographical Maps Of The United States And The Dominion of Canada, 1878
Gray, Ormando Willis, Philadelphia
First edition was 1875. The maps here are identical to our 1878 Gray's Atlas of the United States (although substantially changed from the 1874 edition), except that this copy has 17 large scale maps of Virginia Cities in the rear with a "Professional Directory of Patrons. Virginia."  It is a mystery why Gray used two different titles for essentially the same atlas.  View Atlas

35 Irrigation Maps San Joaquin Valley and Southern California, 1880 - 1888
Hall, Wm. Ham. (William Hammond); California State Engineering Department, Sacramento
The sheets show the areas of land that can be practically irrigated in the San Joaquin portion of the Central Valley and parts of Southern California. Classifies lands into several categories. Printed in full color. Mounted on linen. Relief depicted by contour lines in valley areas, and by hachures in the hills and mountains. 33 of the maps were scanned from the collection of the Water Resources Center Archives, University of California Library.  View Maps

Johnson's New Illustrated Family Atlas Of The World, 1886
Johnson, A.J., New York
A very late edition of this atlas that was first issued in 1860, 1887 is the last edition that we have, although Phillips shows 1885 as the last edition. Most of the maps have been updated to show changes in the American west, railroad development, and geographic discoveries. View Atlas

Report Upon The True Divisional Line Between The Republic Of Venezuela And British Guiana, 1897
Venezuela-British Guiana Boundary Commission, Washington, D.C.
Reproductions of maps from 1534 to 1875. On cover: Venezuelan Boundary Commission Report. 1898. Atlas (vol. 4 indicated on half title). With printed color. The American resolution under the auspices of the Monroe Doctrine, and as illustrated by this atlas, of the dispute between Britain and Venezuela, largely followed the the route (favoring Britain) of the Schomburgk Line, the name given to a survey line made in 1835 by Robert Hermann Schomburgk (1804-1865). Venezuela periodically contests its validity. View Atlas

(British Atlas, U.S. Atlas, Atlas of Award). Alaskan Boundary Tribunal, 1904
Alaskan Boundary Tribunal, Washington D.C.
Three volumes, with excellent facsimiles of historic maps that support the sides in the dispute. With printed color. "Many of these maps have been reduced in scale to bring them within the limits of this atlas." Many maps also only show the portion of the original applicable to the Alaska/Canada boundary. View Atlas

The Coal Resources Of The World. Atlas, 1913
Campbell, Marius R., Toronto
Shows coal resources throughout the world in the early 20th century. Elegant color printing. This copy has only 45 of 48 maps (missing Map Nos. 24-26, which cover portions of Canada in detail). View Atlas

Atlas of American Agriculture, 1936
Kincer, Joseph Burton, Washington D.C.
A spectacular color atlas of the United States exhibiting great detail in hundreds of maps, graphs, tables, and text on the full range of agricultural topics and subtopics. Bound into a single volume here, it consists of several parts often found as separates: Land Relief; Climate: Temperature, Sunshine, and Wind; Climate: Frost and the Growing Season; Climate: Precipitation and Humidity; Soils; and Natural Vegetation: Grassland and Desert Shrub, Forests. View Atlas and BookReader

Hammond's New World Atlas. Containing New and Complete Historical, Economic, Political and Physical Maps of the Entire World in Full Colors, 1948
Hammond, C.S., Garden City, New York
With 277 maps, shows the new political configuration of the world at the end of World War II. Includes an Illustrated Gazetteer of the United States and Territories. View Atlas

The World Atlas. Second Edition, 1967
USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), Moscow
This second edition of the Atlas of the World (1st edition in 1954) has fewer maps of the USSR on account of the interim publication of the "Atlas of the USSR", three fewer historical maps due to then impending publication of the "Historical Atlas of the World", and many new maps and revisions. The Atlas was considered accurate in terms of contemporary knowledge of the ocean floors. This edition also uses both the Russian and the Roman alphabets - making it comprehensible to a much broader range of readers. "The second edition of the World Atlas is issued at a time when all progressive people of the globe are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Great October socialist revolution." Mapped in attractive full color with tints for elevation and sea depth values. Relief shading is sometimes used to contribute to realism. Scales generally in regular increments (two or multiples of two); urban vicinity maps typically at 1:250,000 facilitating the comparison of the sizes of major cities around the world. View Atlas

Pergamon World Atlas, 1968
Polish Army Topography Service, Oxford
This is the English edition of the Polish Atlas Swiata. This massive atlas (weighing nearly 5.5 kilograms and containing 48 square meters of maps) is of high cartographic and aesthetic quality, and provides a rich assortment of thematic (over 400) as well as hundreds of physical and political maps. Includes pictures of the flag and a synopsis for each country. Rich use of symbolism creatively conveys the data in a clear manner. View Atlas

Astronomical Recreations; Or Sketches of the Relative Positions And Mythological History Of The Constellations, 1824
Green, Jacob; Finley, Anthony, Philadelphia
Probably the first U.S. celestial atlas. Issued by Anthony Finley in the same year as his first terrestrial atlas, 1824, this was likely intended to accompany it, although it is never listed in Finley's catalog. The advertisement page states: "The plates have been faithfully reduced from those in the last edition of the magnificent Atlas of Bode, published in Germany a few years since..." View Atlas

American Atlas (Pocket Atlas), 1827
Finley, Anthony, Philadelphia
This is a pocket atlas version of Finley's American Atlas. The maps are printed on thin paper and folded into a red leather pocket case with "American Atlas" embossed on the flap. John Grigg of Philadelphia also issued this pocket atlas with his name on a red cover. View Atlas

Atlas Elementaire Simplifie De Geographie Ancienne Et Moderne, 1838
Soulier, E.; Andriveau-Goujon, J.. Paris
The maps are simplified somewhat, probably indicating that this was used for teaching in colleges and schools. In many cases the graphics on the maps are most unusual, and the style of engraving uses symbols and visualizations that are unique to this atlas. View Atlas

Special-Karte Der Vereinicten Staaten Von Nord-Amerika. von J. Calvin Smith, 1852
Smith, J. Calvin, Cassel (Germany)
The second revised German edition of Smith's large wall map of the United States, here bound as 16 separate sheets in an atlas (we have also digitally joined all 16 sheets into a composite image, shown on the left). The inset map of North America is titled "Uebersichts-Ka rte von Nord Amerika von J. Calvin Smith..." The map has been redrawn onto lithographic plates with a very slight change of scale (smaller). The only German used is in the titles and the references.  View Atlas

Colton's Illustrated Cabinet Atlas and Descriptive Geography. Maps by G. Woolworth Colton. Text by Richard Swainson Fisher, 1859
Colton, G.W.; Fisher, Richard Swainson, New York
This atlas is lavishly illustrated with hundreds of etchings on a wide range of geographical subjects, statistical tables, and smaller maps and plans. It is a smaller version of Colton's General Atlas, with regional maps. A one-time effort, not reissued. However, these maps are reused by Colton in some of his school atlases. The text by Fisher (minus the sections on the states and territories) is used later in Johnson's Family Atlas starting in 1861. This is a general physical geography text based on the Atlas of Milner and Petermann published in London. Overall the text is intended to be particularly readable.  View Atlas

We have also created a flip book version of this atlas at the Internet Archive.

Ice Atlas of the Northern Hemisphere, 1946
Hydrographic Office, U.S. Navy, Washington, D.C.
Published by the U.S. Navy in 1946, this atlas provides colored monthly maps detailing the extent and character of the ice for each principal region of the Northern Hemisphere known to have seasonal or permanent sea or lake ice. Also includes statistical tables. It is interesting to compare the extent of sea ice then with the diminishing extent today, as shown on the National Snow and Ice Data Center of the University of Colorado. View Atlas

Early Wall and Case Maps of the United States, 1796 to 1833
Arrowsmith, Tardieu, Carleton, Lewis, Lay, Varle, Robinson, and Vance
12 large maps of the eastern United States by various publishers over a period of 37 years from 1796 to 1833.  All of the maps borrow from each other, gradually adding updated and more accurate geographic information over time. The Arrowsmith maps printed in London are among the earliest to show the young United States, followed by updated copies made in Paris by Tardieu, Carleton's version published in Boston, then the very large wall maps by Lewis, and other variations by Lay, Varle, Robinson, and Vance. View Maps

Cary's Survey of the High Roads From London, 1790
Cary, John, London
An early strip map atlas of the roads leading outward from London, in all directions. The title page lists some of the many attributes of the strip map sheets: "On a Scale of one Inch to a Mile; wherein Every Gentleman's Seat, situate on, or seen from the Road, (however distant) are laid down, with the name of the Possessor; to which is added The Number of Inns on each separate route; also, the different Turnpike Gates, shewing The Connection which one trust has with another." View Atlas

English road atlases like this one no doubt influenced contemporary American road books such as Christopher Colles' Survey of the Roads of the United States of 1789 and The Traveler's Directory by Moore and Jones, 1802. 

Map of Pennsylvania, 1822
Melish, John, Philadelphia
First edition. A large wall map of Pennsylvania and one of the finest maps of the state in the early 19th century. Compared with the 1826 case map edition, there are many changes. The 1826 edition adds the delineation of topography adjoining the river systems, roads in almost every county, numerous changes in the emerging coal regions in the east central part of the state, more mountains and plateaus. View Map

Atlas Classique De La Geographie, 1839
Monin, C.V., Paris
A very sophisticated college atlas; the mountains and rivers table has no engraver listed but is clearly derived from or by Bulla, the author of the first table in this format published in 1826. See Garner's chart of 1823, and see our blog post on mountains and rivers maps for interesting comparisons. There are also two excellent thematic plates: Tableau de Geographie Physique and the Tableau de Systeme Solaire. View Atlas

United States Of America, 1830, 1832, 1834
Tanner, Henry S., Philadelphia
Three editions of Henry Tanner's large and detailed case map of the United States are added to the online collection, dated 1830, 1832, and 1834, which when added to the 1829 and 1839 editions already online, give an excellent 10 year view of the changes to this important map and to the country from 1829 to 1839.  View All 5 Editions of the Map

Nine Editions of Mitchell's Reference & Distance Map of the United States, 1834 - 1846
Mitchell, Samuel Augustus, Philadelphia
Mitchell's Reference & Distance Map of the United States was one of the most important American wall maps produced in the 1830's and 1840's.  It was drawn and engraved by James H. Young. The map was large -about 5ft tall and 6ft wide. Shown in this group are the nine new online editions plus a tenth edition already online.  View Maps

Map of the United States Of North America, 1842
Burr, David H., London
This large four sheet wall map of the United States west to the 100th meridian must have been intended to accompany Burr's 1839 thirteen sheet American Atlas of postal wall maps. The American Atlas has a large map of the United States from coast to coast, but it lacks the detail of this wall map, which shows most of the postal roads, canals, and railroads that are delineated on the large scale individual state maps of the American Atlas. That detail makes this wall map one of the best large area road maps of the United States as a whole, of the period - more detailed than Tanner's Map of the United States or Mitchell's Reference and Distance Map of the United States, shown above. View Map

Stream Of Time, Or Chart Of Universal History, From The Original German Of Strass. Revised By D. Haskel, 1842
Colton, J.H., New York
Stream of Time maps were popular in the second half of the 19th century (see our 1858 Tableau De L'Histoire Universelle by Pick) and later, but this map or diagram by Colton is an early example, at least in the United States. The period covered starts with the Creation in 4004 BC and extends down to 1842. The bottom of the map has an explanation which states that "Each Nation is represented by a stream which is broken in upon or flows on undisturbed as it is influenced by the accession of Territory or the remaining at Peace." View Map

Maps of the State of Maine, 1844 - 1862
Greenleaf Moses; Colton, J.H.; DeSilver, Charles; Walling, H.F.; Chase, J. New York, Philadelphia, Portland
Five maps showing Maine's evolution over an 18 year period of great change and expansion. 2 wall maps, 2 pocket maps, and 1 case map. View Maps

View all Maine Maps in the online Collection.

General - Karte Des Oesterreichischen Kaiserstaates, 1856
Scheda, Josef, Wien
Joseph Scheda was an Engineer in the Geographic Corps, Militarisch Geografischen Institute, Austria. His map shows the extent of the Austrian Empire in 1856. It is comprised of 20 sheets, each dissected into 6 sections. Incredible detail throughout the map. A triumph of Austrian/German engraving. The 20 sheets cover most of central and southern Europe. A digital composite image joins all 20 sheets together in one large map. View Maps

Map of The World On Mercator's Projection, 1847 and 1857
Colton, J. H.; Johnson, D. Griffing, New York
One of the great American World Wall maps of the period. Colton took over the publishing of this map in 1849. The 1847 edition is by Johnson and the 1857 edition is by Colton. Table of distances. Shows numerous routes followed by historic mariners including observations of birds on the high seas. The 1857 edition has numerous annotations in French by a traveler going around the world.  View Maps

The Cottage Ornament, 1856
Ensign, Bridgman & Fanning, New York
This is an unusually decorative map by a group of New York map publishers known for their use of portraits, views, and information graphics (the universal Dial Plate showing times at different places around the world, etc.) on their maps. In this large wall map they seem to have added all the views used in all their different publications in one map. The map's title is an understatement. View Map

Map Of The Vicinity Of Philadelphia, 1860
Lake, D.J.; Beers, S.N., Philadelphia
A very large, detailed map showing land owners around Philadelphia. This copy is one of eight issues of the map (Ristow). This issue has inset maps and business directories of Philadelphia, Germantown, Frankford, Bridesburg plus five small towns (all at the top), and Manayunk, Falls of Schuykill, Hestonville, Paschallville, Tacony and Holmesburg at the bottom. Other issues of the map have Philadelphia and Trenton and Philadelphia and Camden in the titles. Lake and Beers may have done eight issues to cover different parts of the local market, much in the manner of Beers' six different issues of his Atlas of New York and Vicinity of 1867-8. The date of 1860 on the map has been changed to 1869 by someone drawing the "9" in place of the "0" which probably had rubbed off. View Map

The Washington Map Of The United States, 1861 and 1862
Smith, Robert P.; Taintor, S. & Co., New York and Philadelphia
Four editions from 1861 and 1862 of this huge and important wall map of the United States, published on the eve of the U.S. Civil War. The 1862 edition is one of the earliest maps to show the states who "claim to have seceded from the United States" in a small note on the right below the title. There are many inset views, portraits of the Presidents in the borders, and thematic inset maps. Smith also published a similar wall map in 1862, the New Naval and Military Map of the United States, which explicitly references the Civil War that had just begun. View Maps

Atlas Universel De Geographie Physique, Politique, Ancienne Et Moderne, 1875
Brue, A.H.; Levasseur, E., Paris
The last edition seen of the Brue Atlas Universel which began in 1822. E. Levasseur was brought in by the publisher to make updates to all the maps, with varying degrees of success. There is an attempt to improve the American maps from the 1866 edition, but they are still ridiculously outdated. Nonetheless, this is a handsome relic of what was once a great atlas. One of the two world maps is unusual in showing geologic formations on several continents. A newly added Tableau Synthetique de Cosmographie provides graphical and textual depictions of several attributes of planetary systems and the earth. The Avertissement pages list in detail the improvements made in the map sheets. View Atlas

Historical Map Of The United States Showing Early Spanish, French & English Discoveries And Explorations Also Forts, Towns & Battle Fields Of Historic Interest, 1876
Blanchard, Rufus, Chicago
This map was published for the 1876 U.S. Centennial celebrations and reflects Blanchard's growing interest in American history during the mid 1870's. Shows historical events on a large map of the Eastern United States from Columbus to about 1840. Six inset facsimiles of early maps. A tablet of history is mounted on the verso.  View Map

Paris Et Ses Environs. Carte Geologique Detaillee. Carte Topographique De L'Etat Major, 1890
Service Geologique Des Mines (France), Paris
This map has incredible detail, showing the geological formations around Paris plus the topographical depiction of the area at the end of the 19th century. 4 sheets, each dissected into 18 sections, mounded and edged with linen. Plus a composite image of all 4 sheets joined together. With printed full color by geological formations.  View Map

Rand, McNally & Co.'s New Shippers' Railroad Map of the United States, 1891
Rand McNally, Chicago
This is a huge 13 part map of the United States railroads from the east coast to the 105th meridian. When all 13 parts are joined, they form a map more than 12 feet high by 20 feet wide. Railroads are shown in great detail at a scale of 8 miles to 1 inch, making this one of the largest scale railroad maps of the late 19th century. 2 additional maps show the U.S. from the west coast east to the 93rd meridian, at a smaller scale.View Maps

Lines Of The Bell Telephone Companies. United States And Canada, 1910
American Telephone and Telegraph, Boston
Shows the extent of telephone lines in the U.S. and Canada in 1910. The long distance lines are primarily in the eastern half of the country, with one line running as far west as Denver. There are no long distance lines in the west, and few local lines except in California. However, there are many lines in the mid west, with Iowa having greater phone development than Pennsylvania. A fascinating map showing the growth of the phone system at an early stage. View Map

Andrews' Schoolroom Chart Of Geographical Illustrations, 1915
Rutley, F., London
Date is approximate. A wonderful large school chart intended to show all kinds of Geographical Illustrations and how they convey information. Maps include: Map Of Europe, untitled birds eye view of land formations, The Earth In Space, The World In Hemispheres, Zones (also showing mountains of the world), The Seasons, Hemispheres Shewing The Proportion Of Land To Water, and Points Of The Compass (showing rivers of the world). Profile is titled "Section Of The Earth's Crust." View Map

Rand McNally Commercial Atlas of America, 1924
Rand McNally and Company, Chicago
This edition has excellent auto route maps of the entire United States. The atlas combines detailed railroad maps and distance maps based on railroads, with the new and growing automobile road system maps showing the road "trail" markings which we presume are an early attempt to provide consistent naming of roads that extend beyond local routes. In addition there are copious indexes showing place names, railroads, population statistics, post offices, telegraph stations, and more. The maps of large cities show the location of major railroad depots, stations, and yards. Maps are often with printed color. View Atlas

The Histomap. Four Thousand Years Of World History. Relative Power Of Contemporary States, Nations And Empires, 1925
Rand McNally and Company, Chicago
A classic 20th century version of a stream of time map showing the flow of history from 2000 B.C. to 1925. The printed sheet of explanation that accompanies the map states: "To the casual reader a Histomap will open a new field of thought. It will enlarge his vision and add zest to his reading. To the student of history it is a necessary auxiliary to that subject, as necessary as the map is to geography and should form the basis from which the intelligent reader can widen and deepen his knowledge by further reading. The Histomap fills a long felt need. It is modern in theory and practice.  It presents an actual picture of the world's history bristling with significant facts in orderly correlation, with which the reader will easily associate, (and therefore remember) all the related facts and ideas that he may pick up in his daily reading. Only by this active association of newly acquired facts and ideas into an orderly background of general history can the reader hope to remember and understand their significance and to appreciate the essential continuity and unity of the histories of all peoples.  Accomplishing this he approaches that ideal of every intelligent reader, a true understanding of the struggles of the past and some degree of true vision of the future." View Map

Cary's New Map of England and Wales, With Part of Scotland, 1794
Cary, John, London
78 Maps. Highly detailed maps, including a large composite image joining all the maps together. The map sheets are bound in book form in this copy, but the maps were also issued joined as a wall map. The maps are especially detailed with information on the roads of the period. From the title: "On Which Are Carefully Laid Down All the Direct and Principal Cross Roads, the Course of the Rivers And Navigable Canals ... Delineated from Actual Surveys: and materially assisted From Authentic Documents Liberally supplied by the Right Honourable the Post Masters General." View Atlas

The large composite map joining all sheets may also be viewed in Google Earth

Map of the United States and British Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, 1816
Shelton, W.; Kensett, T., Connecticut
This highly detailed and accurate map must be one of the best of its period.  It is superior to both the Arrowsmith and the Tardieu maps and incorporates information from Pike's maps and the Bradley postal maps.  There are two very interesting inset maps and a commentary on ancient fortifications along the Ohio River.  View Map

Map Of South Carolina, 1822
Wilson, John; Tanner, Henry S.,  Philadelphia
The first large scale map of South Carolina made after independence. With an inset map of Charleston Harbor. Wilson was the State Civil and Military Engineer and the creation of an accurate state map reflecting all the new internal improvements was one his responsibilities. Henry Tanner, the engraver and publisher, refers to the resulting map as "one of our best and most scientific maps..."   View Map

Western Hemisphere; Eastern Hemisphere, 1825
Gardner, James, London
With 48 inch spheres, this may be one of the largest World Maps produced in the early 1800's. Gardner's map is fairly up to date in the American Northwest, less so in the plains area. The drawing and engraving of this map are very elegant and spare.  In eight sheets, dissected into 6 sections each, and mounted on linen with dark green silk edging. View Map

Atlas Nouveau, 1742
Covens et Mortier; Lisle, Guillaume de, 1675-172, Amsterdam
107 Maps.  The entire text of the bound-in geography has been put online - it is "Inleidinge tot de Geographie ... Door den Heer Sanson d'Abbeville, Ordinaris Geographist des Konings. Te Amsterdam, By Johannes Covens en Cornelis Mortier, Boekverkopers op den Vygendam. Met Privilelgie der Heeren Staaten van Holland en West-Vriesland." View Atlas

Carte De La Mer Mediterranee, 1764
Roux, Joseph, Marseille
The 12 sheets of this atlas make up one large chart of the Mediterranean Sea.  Has notations and courses plotted on many of the charts.  Shows four scales and headings from numerous shoreline points. Includes anchorages, soundings, place names, rocks, and sketches. Shows latitudes.  View Charts

West-India Atlas, 1788
Jefferys, Thomas, London
40 Maps.  27 pages of text have been added to the online atlas.  View Atlas

Charts And Plates To La Perouse's Voyage, 1799
La Perouse, Jean-Francois de Galaup, comte de, 1741-1788, London
73 maps, views, and pages.  This is the London edition of La Perouse's published Voyage.  The first Paris edition of 1797 appeared one year earlier. View Atlas

A New General Atlas, Ancient and Modern, 1814
Playfair, Principal, London
44 maps. An elegantly engraved atlas (many of the maps were engraved by Neele, who also engraved for Pinkerton). View Atlas

Atlas of Scotland, 1832
Thomson, John , Edinburgh and London
58 maps. 2nd issue. "The publication of this splendid atlas, begun in 1818 and finished only in 1831, apparently was disastrous to its originator, for the first issue was published by 'The Trustees,' but the 1832 title has Thomson's own imprint..." --Royal Scottish Geographical Society's Early maps of Scotland, 2d. ed., 1936. View Atlas

Physisch-statistisch u. politischer Atlas von Europa, 1837
Desjardins, Constant, Wien
6 maps. Not in Robinson; very early thematic atlas. Maps are a mixture of hand colored (land) and printed (water) full color. View Atlas

L'Univers. Atlas Classique Et Universel De Geographie Ancienne Et Moderne, 1837
Fremin, A.R.; Monin, C.V.; Montemont, A., Paris
38 maps. These maps are large and impressive. They were published with Montemont's 46 volume Histoire Universellle Des Voyages... View Atlas

Atlas universel de geographie physique, politique, ancienne & moderne, 1842
Brue, Adrien Hubert, 1786-1832; Picquet, C., Paris
65 maps. Maps are dated 1822-1842. The maps of the United States and of Mexico show Texas as a Republic. Many of the maps are updated from the 1828 edition of Brue's atlas. View Atlas

Atlas universel historique et geographique, 1844
Houze, Antoine Philippe, Paris
101 maps. Maps in outline color. Maps show the same areas over time: Holy Land (14), France (30), England (10), Italy and Greece (16), Spain (8), Germany (12), Russia (4), Asia (3), and one for N. America, S. America, Africa, and the Pacific Ocean. View Atlas

New General Atlas Of The World, 1844
Dower, John Nicaragua; Teesdale, Henry, London
46 maps. An elegant atlas of double page maps, beautifully engraved by John Dower. This copy is printed on very heavy paper. View Atlas

Historisch-geographi scher Hand-Atlas zur Geschichte der Staaten Europa's, 1854
Spruner von Merz, Karl, Gotha
58 maps. Latest date of revised maps: 1863. Catalog pasted on end lining paper lists works dated up through 1873. Maps with outline hand coloring. Includes "Erlauternde Vorbemerkungen" (58 p.) First published in 1846. Abt. 2 of Dr. Karl von Spruner's Historisch-geographi scher Hand-Atlas. View Atlas

Atlas National De La France, 1856
Levasseur, Victor, Paris
100 maps. This atlas is noteworthy for its beautiful illustrations in the borders of the maps. It was one of the last of the decorative map atlases of the 19th century, along with Tallis and Fullarton. This copy is bound with the maps folded on tabs. View Atlas

Geographischer Atlas uber alle Theile der Erde, 1864
Ziegler, J. M.; Ritter, Carl, Winterthur
24 maps. Maps are highly detailed, yet undated. They are with hand or printed color, in a mixture of outline and full color. View Atlas

Spruner-Menke atlas antiquus, 1865
Spruner von Merz, Karl; Menke, Th., Gotha
31 maps. An atlas of the classical world, originally published in 1850 as the first part of Spruner's historisch-geographi scher hand-atlas, issued in 3 parts, 1846-51. 2nd edition published in 1855. View Atlas

Neuer Atlas der ganzen Erde, 1865
Stein, Christ. Gottfr. Dan, Leipzig
28 maps. 32nd Edition. Maps by Ziegler, Lange, Heck and others. Very good large two sheet map of the United States shows the Confederate states as a separate country. View Atlas

Atlas dresse pour l'Histoire de la geographie et des decouvertes geographiques, 1874
Vivien de Saint-Martin, M., Paris
13 maps. An interesting historical atlas, with many facsimiles of early period maps. View Atlas

Middle Tennessee, Chattanooga Campaigns, 1891
United States. Army. Corps of Engineers, Washington, D.C.
8 maps. All eight maps are derived and enlarged from an 1865 "Military Map of Middle Tennessee and parts of East Tennessee..." by C.S. Mergell which was published in 1874. Each map says "Positions of the Troops located in 1891." These maps are of great interest to historians of these battles because the level of detail regarding troop positions, etc. is very good. View Atlas

Wisconsin bicycle road maps, 1897
League of American Wheelmen, Wisconsin Division, Milwaukee
12 maps. 12 maps in a case showing the best bicycle routes in the state of Wisconsin. The L.A.W. published maps for many states, usually in book form, sometimes as separate maps in a case. View Atlas

Atlas de Filipinas, 1899
Algue, P. Jose.; U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Washington, D.C.
30 maps. One of the earliest scientific surveys of the Philippine Islands, published by the U.S. Coast Survey. These maps were prepared through the accurate surveys made by Jesuit Fathers under the supervision of Rev. Jose Algue, the director of the Jesuit Observatory at Manila. View Atlas

Atlas metodico para la ensenanza de la geografia de la Republica Mexicana, 1899
Garcia Cubas, Antonio, Mexico
31 maps. A late atlas of Mexico by Garcia Cubas. 1st edition was 1874; maps of each state or territory with accompanying text. A somewhat crude production in printed color, probably intended for use in schools. View Atlas

Atlas Antiquus, 1903
Kiepert, Heinrich, Berlin
12 maps. An atlas of the classical world. Latest map revisions dated 1903. Place names, legends and index in Latin; explanatory material in German. View Atlas

The following are highlights from 1,566 New Maps added to the David Rumsey Collection. All titles may be found by launching the LUNA  Browser or Java Client and searching under Search/by Publication Author using the author last names below. Or click here to view all 1,566 new maps.

The following are highlights from 1,148 New Maps added to the David Rumsey Collection. All titles may be found by launching the Insight Browser or Java Client and searching under Search/by Publication Author using the author last names below. Or click here to view all 1,148 new maps.