Old maps - related subjects

WWW-Virtual Library: History Map History / History of Cartography: THE Gateway to the Subject

HOME
(main menu) INDEX complete
SITEMAP What the
site is
ABOUT WHAT'S
NEW Map History

Related Subjects

It is hoped that the links offered here are the best routes into the subjects concerned. See also Special topics with relevance to early maps and also Other discussion lists

If you know of any other good links or closely related subjects please notify
the editor of this page, Tony Campbell:

Aerial Photographs
Cartography and modern maps in general
Geography
Geology (history)
Historical Geography
Historical Maps
History of Architecture
History of Art
History of Astronomy
History of Aviation
History of Discovery and Exploration
History of Hydrography and Navigation
History of Science
History of Surveying
Landscape and Garden History
Maritime History
Military History

AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS:-
There appears to be no general inventory of air/aerial photographs. These tend to be collected and held nationally or regionally. Try searching Google for, e.g., aerial photographs and a geographical name. A few of the national and general sites are listed below. These usually combine historical and modern images.

'How to Interpret a Satellite Image: Five Tips and Strategies' (Earth Observatory)
Australia. National Library 'New guide to the Aerial Photographs Collection at the National Library'
Canada. National Air Photo Library 'Aerial Photography in Canada: a Brief History'
Denmark. FlyfotoArkivet LW 1944 (German air photos, 1944 - the Royal Library and JO Informatik)
France. ‘Neuve-Chapelle, France Was the First Town Ever Mapped From Aerial Photos’ (‘In 1915, the Royal Flying Corps tried a new method for map-making’ – an illustrated note by Thomas Reinertsen Berg in Airspacemag, 10 January 2020)
Italy. 'Aerofototeca Nazionale' (Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione)
Netherlands. Georeferenced aerial photographs of the Netherlands (almost 100,000, from 1943-7 - Wageningen University Library)
Switzerland. Aerial Images (via the LUBIS-viewer, a web based information system for aerial photographs - swisstopo)
U.K. - Cambridge Cambridge University Collection of Air Photos (CUCAP) (for background, see Landscape histories from the air: unlocking a UK-wide archive)
U.K. - Edinburgh. The National Collection of Aerial Photography at the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland [images, from 1938, of places throughout the world; see 'View Declassified Images on Google Maps', on Google Maps Mania, 24 November 2009, about how the RCAHMS 'are busy mapping declassified military aerial photographs on Google Maps']. See also: ‘A Short History of the National Collection of Aerial Photography’ (Susan Hallsworth on ‘the world’s second largest collection of aerial photography’ - Historic Environment Scotland)
U.K. - England & Wales. ‘Ordnance Survey Air Photo Mosaics, 1944-1950’ (National Library of Scotland)
U.K. - Historic England Aerial Photos (see also Britain from Above )
U.K. - Historic England’s ‘Aerial Photograph Explorer’ (over 400,000 aerial photos over England from 1919 onwards - 2022)
U.K. - Scotland and Wales National Collection of Aerial Photography
United States. ASPRS Aerial Data Catalog (a free resource from the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS), offering both U.S. and international coverage)
United States. Library of Congress 'Aerial Photographs and Remote Sensing Images'
United States. National Archives General Information Leaflet Number 26. 'Cartographic and Architectural Records'
United States. U.S.G.S. 'Aerial Photographs and Satellite Images' and Looking for an Old Aerial Photograph (Fact Sheet 127-96)
United States. 'Historic Aerials' ("free online access to historic and current aerial photography ... from the 1930s through today"; particularly for urban areas, you can compare images from different years)
United States. 'Imagery Interpretation Section. The eyes of the division' (a 63-page, illustrated pdf article manual used by the US Army 24th Infantry Division in Germany in 1963)
Unites States. US aerial photography (illustrated articles from out-of-copyright magazines of the 1930s - mounted on the ModernMechanix blog, under 'photography')
United States. 'U.S. Satellite Imagery, 1960-1999' (Jeffrey T. Richelson, National Security Archive 'Electronic Briefing Book No. 13', 1999 - including comments about early air photography)
United States - San Francisco. San Francisco Aerial Photographs 1938 ('a set of 164 large format, sharp, black and white vertical aerial photographs of San Francisco taken in 1938 from an airplane by Harrison Ryker, a pioneer in aerial photography. The photographs overlap each other and cover the entire city' - David Rumsey)
United States - Wisconsin. Wisconsin Historic Aerial Image Finder ('free online access to over 38,000 aerial photographs of Wisconsin from 1937-41')

‘The 'Balloon Maps' That Aided Exploration, War, And Tourism’ (illustrated note by Cara Giaimo, Atlas Obscura, January 2017)