David Rumsey Map Collection

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