Maps and Atlases
The collection of maps focuses on the United States, although
there are maps of all parts of the world that were printed in the
United States. The size of the collection is about 10,000 items.
The strengths of the collection are maps of New England of the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and, more specifically, maps of
Massachusetts. In 1910, the New England Historic Genealogical
Society placed its collection of maps on deposit at AAS; AAS
purchased this collection in 1992.
No major acquisitions comparable in size to the collections of
John W. Farwell or Thomas W. Streeter have arrived at the Society
since 1958, and purchases of cartographic materials each year are
restricted to a few items. Gifts are always welcome. Although the
geographical arrangement and index of the map collection are
adequate for answering reference questions posed by local
historians and genealogists, it is almost impossible to respond to
queries posed by cartographic historians with respect to
cartographers or to techniques used in the compilation of a map.
There are partial indices to the collection by engraver and by
lithographer. Easy access to those printed in America is made
possible by the bibliography compiled by James Clement Wheat and
Christian F. Brun, Maps and Charts Published in America Before
1800 (New Haven and London, 1969). This was reprinted in 1985.
Kenneth Nebenzahl's Bibliography of Printed Plans of the American
Revolution (Chicago, 1975) also reflects the holdings of AAS.
These bibliographies are useful to anyone using the collection
because they provide access points not available in other finding
aids at the Society.
The atlas collection consists of about 650 volumes, dating from the
late sixteenth century to the early twentieth century. Although there
are many world atlases, the focus of the collection is atlases of the
United States, particularly New England. There are atlases designed
for school use as well as folio volumes devoted to maps of particular
states, counties, and cities. The entire collection has been catalogued
and access to this collection can be achieved by using the genre heading
"Atlases." There are index cards in the map catalogue in the reading room
for maps published in atlases published before 1821.
The Society also has a collection of pocket
maps
which were intended to be
carried and used during travel. The maps are usually small in size and fold neatly into a leather or paperboard
binding. There are over four hundred of these maps in the collection,
ranging in date from the 1820's through the end of the nineteenth
century. State and city maps are found in the pocket map collection, as
well as numerous maps showing railroad and steamboat lines,
mining claims, and territorial divisions in the western settlements. Some
are annotated by previous owners, showing preferred routes
or noting hotels and other points of interest. An inventory of
the pocket map collection, arranged by state, is available online.
- Georgia B. Barnhill, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Graphic Arts
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Among the maps in the collection is A Plan of the Town of Boston with
the Intrenchments &c. of His Majestys Forces in 1775. This English
publication shows the topographical features of Boston, including three
hills: Beacon Hill, Mount Whoredom, and Fox Hill. The number of wharfs on
the east side of Boston suggest the importance of shipping to the town.
John Foster was a printer active in the seventeenth century. Among the
products of his press was William Hubbards Narrative of the Troubles with
the Indians in New-England, issued in 1677. John Foster engraved this map
of New England, oriented so that North is to the right.
For current information on the cataloging status of this and
other AAS collections, choose "Collection Access" below.
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