The only
comprehensive listing of early map image sites. The
monthly additions are indicated thus, e.g. {March
2002} at the end of the
entry. Since the symbols { } are not used elsewhere, you can search on
those elements [enter Ctrl+F]; e.g. 2002} will find entries added
at any time in that year)
Please notify any corrections or additions to the editor, Tony
Campbell:
Make sure to consult its copyright statement
before using any of the images you find
’North
American Atlases’ (a chronological list of atlases of America, North America, the United
States, separate US states or parts of them, and the West Indies, whose contents can be found,
in high res., on the David Rumsey Map Collection site [for further details about this
site see Large general sites]) {May, 2004}
North
America (high res. images from the Hargrett Library Rare Map
Collection, University of Georgia Libraries)
North America. 'The Archive of Early American Images' (follow the access
instructions [memorising the login and password], then search in one of various ways; selecting
Subject: 'Geography, maps, city views and plans' produced 774 hits [at the launch in May
2005]; maximise the new window and then enlarge by stages to very high res.; providing
access to early and important maps from the major research library for early Americana; but a
slow-moving and awkward site - John Carter Brown Library) {May, 2005}
'North American
Atlases' (a good selection, 1733-1979, captured in their entirety, and enlargeable to
high res., arranged in chronological order - David Rumsey Collection) {March, 2010}
+ North America 'Charting an Empire: The Atlantic Neptune' (describing and illustrating
(with a selection of high res. scans) the charting of the eastern seaboard of North America
after 1763, by Des Barres and others - a two-part exhibition at the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center,
Boston Public Library, May-November 2013) {December, 2013}
North
America. 'France in America' (in English and French; select Maps
for good selections of high res. MrSID images from the Library of Congress's
Rochambeau Collection (related to French involvement in the American War of Independence) [on
which see also another version] and the Geography & Maps Division, and nine enlargeable images
from the Bibliothèque nationale de France's Cartes et Plans department and the Collection du
Service hydrographique de la Marine - a search for 'map' retrieved 155 items) {May, 2005}
North America - France. 'Mapping the French
Empire in North America' (low to medium res., black and white, images illustrating 'a Virtual Exhibit based on selections from
Buisseret, David. Mapping the French Empire in North America: An Interpretive Guide to the Exhibition Mounted at the Newberry
Library on the Occasion of the 17th Annual Conference of the French Colonial Historical Society (Chicago: The Newberry
Library, 1991)' - Newberry Library, Chicago) {January, 2008}
'North America Historical
Maps' (10 [original not 'historical'] maps, enlargeable to high res. via LizardTech ExpressView Plugin - Yale University
Library) {November, 2007}
North America. 'Historical
Maps Database' (an index to more than 1000 maps, with its emphasis on Georgia and
North America, in the Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries)
{May, 2010}
North America. 'Historical maps online' (a selection of 'city plans' and
'maps', from different online collections and in differing resolutions, covering North America
as a whole or specific areas of Canada and the USA, 17th to 20th century - Roots & Routes)
{July, 2005}
North America. 'Historical Maps Online' (409 high res. MrSID images; select
from a browsing list, or via geographical sections (concentrating on Illinois and the
Northwest Territory but also covering other parts of the US, Canada, Mexico, South
America, etc.) - the University of Illinois Library and the University of Illinois Press,
with a selection from the Newberry Library) {March, 2004}
North America.
'Realms of Gold: a Catalogue of Maps in the Library of the American Philosophical Society'
(equivalent to a 600-page book, this catalogue, preceded by an introduction, by Murphy
D. Smith, 1991, comprises 1774 entries (over 1000 relating to North America) of which 52 are
MSS and three globes, illustrated with 'more than 100 maps' (about 25 of them MSS) zoomable to
very high res. in JPEG2000 format) {September, 2005}
+ '1759:
Britain's Year of Victories' (exhibition curated by Brian Leigh Dunnigan at the William L. Clements Library,
University of Michigan, featuring a number of enlargeable maps) {June, 2015}
'America, 1500 - 1800' ('several hundred maps', enlargeable to high res. - Bibliothèque et
Archives nationale Québec) {October, 2011}
Beinecke Rare Book &
Manuscript Library. 'Digital Images Online' (there appear to be at least 236 maps (mostly relating to N.
America), enlargeable to medium res., but, despite the fact that there is a 'Genre/Form' for 'Maps' it does
not seem possible to select all in that category - Yale University) {December, 2008}
Des Barres's Atlantic Neptune
(the sequence of 121 charts of the Atlantic coast of North America, enlargeable to very high res. - Library of Congress) {September, 2015}
Des Barres's Atlantic Neptune
(search for 'Des Barres' for scans [zoomable in small sections to very high res.] of the
entire Henry Newton Stevens collection, comprising 209 charts, with variants of each chart, view and
text sheet [there are 1,078 'matches'] - National Maritime Museum) {November, 2006; revised April 2012}
'Envisaging the West:
Thomas Jefferson and the Roots of Lewis and Clark' (an electcronic archive including '22
map images, and a geo-rectified cartographic database of 8 interactive maps'; the maps
are enlargeable to very high res. and comprise general and regional maps of North
America (1755-1811) - University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Virginia)
{February, 2009}
Faden's Ameri[c]an
Atlas (19 of William Faden's collection of 33 maps and battle plans of the Revolutionary
War, 1759-77, enlargeable via Zoomify to very high res.; for an introductory note by
Lauren Coats, three essays by Joel Kovarsky and a bibliography see Here - Lehigh University Digital
Library, Bethlehem, PA) {November, 2010}
'The George S. Parker Map Collection' (57 maps, enlargeable to very high
res., including New France (29), Mexico (5), Florida (4) and 19th-century Wisconsin (19) -
Wisconsin Historical Society) {January, 2011}
Great Lakes. 'U.S. Lake Survey Online' (50 charts
(rising to 76), 1852-82, enlargeable to high res. with Zoomify - Memorial Library, University of Wisconsin-
Madison) {September, 2008}
Hodsoll Collection
(low to medium res. images of maps of N. America and Canada from the collection donated
by Elmar Hodsoll of Toronto - McMaster University Library) {July, 2003}
+ Indian. 'Native American History at the Clements Library' ('an expanded version
of the physical exhibit American Encounters, formerly on display at the William L. Clements Library',
illustrated with medium res. maps) {October, 2011}
John Carter Brown Library.
'JCB Map Collection' (an important collection of 1,362 maps, enlargeable to high res., in a
chronological browsing list, focusing on the world and the Americas) {November, 2011}
'Kaarten van de Atlantic World' (61 high res. maps,
covering America, North America and sections of the eastern coast - National Archives, The
Hague) {December, 2012}
+ 'Mapping Colonial America' (online exhibition, requiring Flash 6,
exploring maps (1587 to 1782) from Colonial Williamsburg's collection, and including a
zooming tool allowing a close look at map details) {February, 2004}
+ 'An overview of
cartography' (a small selection of maps of the world, N. America and
Canada, selected by Edward Dahl - low to medium res.)
ArchiviaNet: On-line research tool (use Archives Search for a searchable database of about
4,000 high res. MrSID images, from the 16th century up to the 1980s, which can be searched for in a database, of
approximately 50,000 early maps, plans and charts [further images will be added annually] - Library and Archives Canada)
{September, 2003; amended November 2009; partly updated September 2017}
Arctic. ‘L’Apparition du Nord’ (a visual analysis and
comparison of Gerard Mercator’s Septentrionalium Terrarum description (1595) - Bibliothèque de l'Université Laval)
{February, 2018}
+ Arctic. ‘Of Maps and Men: In Pursuit of a Northwest Passage’ (maps
illustrate the exhibition sections; there is also a page with 12 other maps of the Arctic, 1528-1907, enlargeable to high
res. - John Delaney, Princeton University Library, 2004) {May, 2005}
Arctic.
‘Northwest Passages: Pre-factual cartography’ (medium res. illustrations and comments (by Kevin McGwin) relating to the
exhibition at the Osher Map Library, University of Southern Maine, curated by Ian Fowler) {October, 2016}
Arctic. 'The
search for a Northwest passage' ('a selection of books, maps and manuscripts on the Northwest Passage
in the British Library', arranged in four historical sections, each comprising brief notes and medium res.
illustrations, with a Bibliography - British Library, Online Gallery) {July, 2010}
Arctic. 'The U.S.S. Jeannette' (about the American Expedition to the Arctic in 1879 - an illustrated post by Stuart Ackland for the Bodleian Map Room blog, 11 April 2024) {August, 2024}
'The Barren
Lands. J.B. Tyrrell's Expeditions for the Geological Survey of Canada,
1892-1894' (covering the Nunavut region and northern Manitoba and
Saskatchewan - over 40 high res., zoomable MrSID maps: 'Browse the
Collection', selecting 'Maps' (which produces a list), select an item,
then 'View Item Record', clicking on the 'All Pages' link - University of
Toronto) {March, 2002}
Canadian Cities: Bird's Eye Views (12 low res. views of the late 19th
and early 20th centuries - Association of Canadian Map Libraries and
Archives) {August, 2003}
‘Canadian Maps’ (a high
res. selection of 20th century maps, mostly of Saskatchewan - Julia Adamson) {October,
2004}
Canadiana (nearly 22,000 Canadian maps digitized
from the 1:50,000 scale National Topographic Series¸ enlargeable to high res.) {September, 2022}
Cartes
historiques canadiennes (medium res. images from the Atlas of
Canada No.29. Origins of the People, 1901) {April, 2001}
'Cartes marines
anciennes' (select the section 'Amériques' for eleven maps and charts, viewable in high
res. via the 'Taille' link [most of the enlargement options beneath the thumbnail do not
work]; see also 'Cartes
anciennes diverses' - reproduced under licence from the Bibliothèque nationale de France
(Gallica) by Jacques Zan) {November, 2005}
'Centre for
Newfoundland Studies - Digitized Maps' (173 maps, of Newfoundland and Labrador, enlargeable to
very high res. - Digital Archives Initiative, Memorial University of Newfoundland) {September,
2010}
+ 'David
Thompson: Map Maker, Explorer and Visionary' (online exhibition celebrating the 150th anniversary of his death,
including an illustrated section with maps (enlargeable to high res.), 'North America's Greatest Geographer' -
Archives of Ontario) {June, 2008}
'Examples of Canadian
Topographic Maps' (select: 'Maps & Data'; 'Sample Maps' for 12 slow-loading examples,
1892-2002 - University of Northern British Columbia, Gislab) {November, 2003}
Hodsoll Collection (low to medium res. images of maps of N. America and Canada from the collection donated by Elmar Hodsoll of Toronto - McMaster University Library) {July, 2003}
'Images Canada' (searching
for map brought up 345 items, not all maps, viewable as low res. images - National
Library of Canada) {January, 2004}
Indian Reserves - Western Canada (127 high res. MrSID images of MS and printed
maps - Library and Archives Canada) {December, 2004}
Indigenous Peoples. 'Pan Inuit Trails Atlas' (showing how the Canadian Arctic has long been explored and
mapped by the Inuit people - 'The Northwest Passage and the construction of Inuit pan-Arctic identities' project)
{July, 2014}
North American Indian Map
Pages (lists over 400 North American map sites [mostly reconstructed maps] - Phil
Konstantin) {December, 2001; amended February 2010}
'New Digitized
Content Online: British Admiralty Charts of Canadian Waters' (clicking on the 'Digitized Documents' link
leads to 3,298high res. JPEG2000 scans of navigation charts published by the Hydrographic Office
of the British Admiralty ('over a 150-year period ending in the mid-20th century') - Library and Archives
Canada) {November, 2009}
Newfoundland. 'Digitized Maps' (121 'maps
and charts from the pre-1900 period' [out of 350], enlargeable via Zoomify to high res. - Memorial University - Centre for
Newfoundland Studies) {January, 2008}
Nouvelle-France: Horizons Nouveaux, Histoire d'une terre française en Amérique / New
France: New Horizons; on French soil in America (a virtual and growing exhibition, in
French and (partly) English, supposedly including 1000 cartographic images [out of the
present total of '1 million', which is projected to grow to 2 million by 2005] - although
the introduction mentions '350 archival documents' and a search under 'carte' produced
242 hits - accessed via Adobe SVG Viewer plugin, with Internet Explorer
(and extensive use of distracting Flash), celebrating the foundation of French Canada in
1604, a collaboration between collections in Canada and France) {November, 2003}
Nova Scotia. 'Historical Maps of Nova Scotia'
(55 maps [originals, not historical reconstructions] from 1613, enlargeable to high res. via Zoomify - Nova Scotia Archives) {April, 2011}
Ontario - London. 'Fire
Insurance Plan Holdings' (sets of the 1907and 1915 plans, enlargeable to high res. with
Zoomify - Serge A. Sauer Map Library, University of Western Ontario) {January, 2009}
Panoramic maps, 1847-1929 ('American Memory') (Library of Congress - high
res. MrSID images, with the ability to zoom, enlarge and select
details - covering B.C., Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec)
Prince Edward Island. 'Island
Imagined' ('approximately 1000 Prince Edward Island maps, atlases, and gazetteers
have been digitized and enhanced with metadata'; images enlargeable to high res. -
Public Archives and Records Office and the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation) {April,
2011}
Prince Edward
Island (a small selection of maps, 1744-1878, some in high res. - The Island
Register) {April, 2005}
Québec. 'Maps and Plans' (leading to Collection numérique Cartes et plans, providing access to over 12,263 cartographic documents
relating to Québec, some from the city of Montréal archives, zoomable to very high res.; see a note on recent acquisitions (November 2012) - revised site of
the Bibliothèque et Archives nationale Québec). [Also here]. {October, 2007, updated January 2015}
Quebec. 'Plans de villes et villages du Québec' ('several thousand' large-scale plans, mostly by
Charles Goad - , enlargeable to high res. - Bibliothèque et Archives nationale Québec)
{October, 2011}
'Second Welland Canal' (a
search for 'map' produced 53 images of MS maps, enlargeable to high res. - Special
Collections and Archives, James A. Gibson Library, Brock University) {September, 2007}
Toronto. 'Historical Maps of Toronto'
(a good selection of original [not 'historical', i.e. modern reconstructions] maps (which can be browsed),
enlargeable to high res., with commentary; see the links to a multi-edition selection of Goad plans and
Fort York & Garrison Common Maps - a blog started by Nathan Ng in March 2013). [See also 'Tracing Toronto’s History
Through Maps' (Jamie Bradburn on the Torontoist blog, 11 April 2013).] {April, 2013}
Toronto. 'The Toronto Park Lot Project'
('an exploration of the earliest days of Toronto', providing four overlay maps (1802-51), also 'History Notes', in
particular 'About early surveyors...' - Wendy Smith) {January, 2015}
