Past Events
Early USGS Topographic Maps
Cartographic Portraits of the American Frontier
1878 - 1893
Speaker: Arthur Krim of Survey Systems
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Cambridge Maps and Mapmakers
Speaker: Charles M. Sullivan, Executive Director Cambridge Historical Commission
Tuesday, February 1, 2005
Charles Sullivan spoke about Peter Tufts, Alexander Wadsworth, and James Hayward. He also introduced William A. Mason & Son, Cambridge's most prominent surveyor and subdivision planner in the late 19th and early 20 centuries, and Lewis Hastings, Cambridge's great City Engineer. Charles also addressed mapmaking and the commoditization of land in the early 19th century.
Lots and Lots: Early Maps of Parts of Boston and Cambridge
Tuesday, November 9, 2004
Recent Acquisitions and Interesting Finds
July 2004 - November 2004
A selection of recent atlas and map acquisitions plus some unusual maps discovered among the Map Collection's holdings.
Civitatis Londinium: London from 1572
Spanning over four centuries, the exhibition documented how one of the cultural centers of the world grew from town to city to mega-metroplolis. The exhibition was organized chronologically; moving forward from map to map is like gazing on still frames from a highly sophisticated flip book—the boundaries of the city move out, bridges are built, buildings are burnt and reconstructed.
Gaining Ground: A History of Landmaking in Boston
Book signing and remarks by Dr. Nancy Seasholes
Cartographic Treasures at Harvard
Speaker: David Cobb
In conjunction with the 20th International Conference on the History of Cartography, the Harvard Map Collection hosted the first exhibit to highlight Harvard's cartographic treasures. Significant items were selected from the Houghton Library's Leichtenstein Collection, the Harvard Map Collection, the Gutman Library of the Graduate School of Education, and the Harvard Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments.
A sample of the items shown include: Casper Vopel's ca. 1558 world map in 12 sheets; Jodocus Hondius' 1595 8 sheet map of Europe; John Seller's 1675 map of New England; Lewis Evan's 1749 map of the Middle British Colonies; Sanuto's 1588 atlas of Africa; Jeremy Belknap's 1796 manuscript maps of the boundaries between the U.S. and the Indians; a Korean manuscript atlas from the 17th century; Haestens 16th century 6 sheet map of Jerusalem; and Osgood Carleton's map of the United States and his 1797 map of Boston.
The Pictorial Maps of Ernest Dudley Chase
Speaker: Dr. Joseph Garver
Dr. Joseph Garver, the Map Collection reference librarian, featured selections from Mr. Chase's gifts to the Harvard Map Collection. Ernest Dudley Chase (1878-1966), a graphic artist from Winchester , Massachusetts , designed pictorial maps ranging in scale from his own hometown to global themes of navigation, exploration, communication, and world peace. He could be alternately whimsical, didactic, and subtly allusive--often on the same map.
A Christmas Tale: Two Maps in One
Speaker: David Cobb
Samuel Lewis (1754?-1822) was an American geographer, engraver, and prolific mapmaker. His rare "A Correct Map of the United States with the West Indies" is included among the collections of the Harvard Map Collection. While conserving this map we learned much about the economics of early American mapmaking.
Mapping Map Prices:
20 Years of the Antique Map Price Record
Speakers: Jeremy Pool and Jon Rosenthal
The Antique Map Price Record, a listing of individual maps sold by selected auction houses and dealers, was published as an annual volume since 1983. The new CD-ROM version includes all records from the 16 print volumes, lists over 2,700 different map-makers, and includes over 80,000 individual records spanning two decades of map prices.
The All American Road Map
Peter Yensen presented an exhibit and spoke on the history of road maps in the United States.
Shaping the Emerald Isle
Early Maps 1548 – 1860
This meeting of the Boston Map Society coincided with the opening of a new exhibit at the Harvard Map Collection. The exhibit features maps of Ireland from 1548 (Gastaldi), large-scale maps by John Rocque and Henry Pelham, and the unique cartography developed by the Irish Railway Commission.
Maps and Mapmakers of the Civil War
Presented by Earl McElfresh,
Cartographer, Historian, and President of the McElfresh Map Company
Annual Map Bazaar
Attendees are invited to bring a map or atlas they wish to know more about or bring a favorite map and tell us about it. Highlights have included Blaeu and Linschoten maps of Africa, an early Seller Atlas of the World, numerous early maps of the Americas, and British Royal Air Force and US Army Map Service propaganda from World War II.
The Early Map Trade in Boston
Presented by David Bosse,
Librarian for Historic Deerfield
100 Years of Art & Science in Cartography
An exhibit of manuscript drawings, maps, journals and publications of Erwin Raisz, Harvard’s most prominent mapmaker.
In Search of Maps of New England
Presented by Barbara McCorkle, former Curator of the Yale Map Collection
