historical maps

A section of a 1-4th century map showing the area now known as Great Britain. The ocean is a dark green color and the land is a light grey with dark writing.

Medieval Peutinger Map | Book Review

G.T. Dempsey

The Peutinger Map (Tabula Peutingeriana) is a unique medieval replica of a Roman route map from the late fourth to early fifth centuries.

[Map of California shown as an island], Joan Vinckeboon, ca. 1650.

California as an Island

Caitlin Dempsey

Well into the 17th and 18th centuries, cartographers created maps of the region showing California separated from the mainland by a strait.

A look at the detail on the 1801 Kent Map from the Ordnance Survey.

What Was the First Map Issued by the Ordnance Survey?

Caitlin Dempsey

The first Ordnance Survey map was issued in 1801.

Map fan from China: Da Qing yi tong er shi san sheng yu di quan tu, 1890. Source: Library of Congress.

Maps on Fans

Caitlin Dempsey

Maps can be found on a variety of items, including hand fans.

Over 600 Maps Added to South Dakota Digital Archives

Caitlin Dempsey

The South Dakota State Historical Society has made over 600 maps available online with the South Dakota Digital Archives.

Visit Almost Four Hundred Years of Mapping Inner Earth With this Virtual Map Exhibit

Elizabeth Borneman

This virtual exhibit shows different theories and maps that have been created postulating what Earth’s interior looks like throughout history and showed evolution of our ideas of what lies beneath our feet.

This 17th century road strip map was created by John Ogilby as part of his 1675 Britannia Atlas. The map shows the route from London to Winchester via Staines, Reading and Basingstoke.

Early Data Visualization Pioneers

Elizabeth Borneman

RJ Andrews created DataViz based on his collected notes to provide readers with insight into five of the earlier pioneers of data visualization.

Color to Your Heart’s Delight With These Historical Map Coloring Pages

Caitlin Dempsey

Relax and reduce your stress by printing out and coloring in these maps.

Land cover of the area under study in the 1st Military Survey map in the lowland area of Nové Dvory and Zehusice, Czech Republic. Source: Skaloš et al., 2011.

GIS and Modern Research from Historical Maps

Mark Altaweel

While GIS offers a way to digitize detailed historical records and maps, it can also provide a new way to understand history and trends over time.

One of the earliest known published jigsaw puzzles: Europe Divided Into Its Kingdoms, John Spilsbury, 1760s.

Dissected Maps: the First Jigsaw Puzzles

Caitlin Dempsey

The earliest jigsaw puzzles were created as educational tools. Known as "dissected maps" these early puzzles were used to teach geography.

A rectified and warped aerial image taken from a Manhattan Community Planning District publication titled, "Lower East Side, East Village, Chinatown, Two Bridges".

Travel through Time with New York City’s Maps

Rebecca Maxwell

The New York City Public Library introduces an online map warping tool, offering access to over 10,000 historical maps of the city.

Where to Look for Historical Maps

Caitlin Dempsey

The use of extracting data from old paper maps is growing in popularity as a method to understanding historical geography. ...

Best of GIS: Notable 2011 Geospatial Happenings

Caitlin Dempsey

It’s been a very long time since I’ve done a “best of GIS” year end review.   Listed below are ...

Topo Map of Escalante Quadrant, Utah from 1886.

Over 120 Years of Mapping History Online

Caitlin Dempsey

The USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection currently makes over 98,000 maps dating as far back as 1884 available to the public.