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 is housed in several different locations.
Those printed in the United States before 1841 are cataloged online with
the other American imprints. Access to all of them can be achieved by the
use
of the genre heading "Atlases."
The maps in the pre-1821 atlases were described as
part of the Catalogue of American Engravings Project, although it
was subsequently decided to exclude maps from the catalog because
the description of variant states was too complex. Information
from these entries has been transferred to cards that have been
interfiled with the cards describing the map collection.
Later atlases are filed in three sections. The first (about
100 volumes) contains atlases that are quarto in size; most of
these are school atlases, arranged chronologically by publication
date. A second section (240 volumes) contains atlases of the
United States. National atlases are shelved first, then the
arrangement is by state, county, and city. The final section is
for world atlases (about 80 volumes). These are filed
chronologically. Modern reprints or historical atlases are listed
in the general catalog.
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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