Genre

Map

Featured Items

Detail of a hand colored manuscript estate plan shows a large compass rose and trees on the estate.

[Estate plan of 300 acres of land near Holetown, Barbados]

John Hapcott
1646
Detail of hand colored, manuscript map shows rivers (outlined in green) and labels written in red ink. Near the large, red letters reading "Mor" there is a plantation notable for being labeled "Jews." Other plantations are labeled with surnames.

A discription of the coleny of Surranam in Guiana drawne in the year 1667

1667
Detail of a hand colored manuscript map shows flags and place names along a coastal region.

[Early representation of Newfoundland, Lower California, the Amazon, and the Ladrones]

António Pereira
circa 1546
Detail of a woodcut, hand-colored map depicting North and South America. Visible details include Cuba, written as "CVBA", a compass rose, and text in Italian.

La carta uniuersale della terra firma & isole delle Indie occidẽtali…

1534
Detail from an engraved, hand colored map shows vivid illustrations of celestial sphere with their constellations and zodiac signs around the sun. Labels in Dutch read "Taurus," "Orion," and "Saittarius."

The sea-atlas or the watter-world

Hendrick Doncker
1626-1699
Detail of a hand colored, engraved map of Boston, Massachusetts shows details such as "Boston Harbor," "Mill Pond," and "Charles's Wharf." Pink, green, and blue colors help differentiate geographical features.

A plan of Boston, and its environs,...

Richard Williams
1776
Detail of hand colored, engraved map of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania shows roads, rivers, and settlements. Text in English labels features.

A map of Philadelphia and parts adjacent..

Nicholas Scull
1752
Detail of a colored engraved map shows latitude and longitude lines and label in English over New England written as "Nieu Engelant."

Pas caarte van Nieu Nederlandt

Arnold Colom
1656

Related

An image of the map '“Delineatio Omnium Orarum Totius Australis Partis Americae'
Collections Up Close

Jan van Linschoten, “Delineatio Omnium Orarum Totius Australis Partis Americae …” in Itinerario, voyage ofte schipvaert…, Amsterdam: Cornelius Claesz, 1596

November 22, 2021
Cartouche of the map “La Louisiane…”  made in 1695 by Vincenzo Coronelli
Collections Up Close

Vincenzo Coronelli, “Partie occidentale du Canada ou de la Nouvelle France…” Paris : Chez J.B. Nolin, 1688

June 30, 2021
Image of Guaxtepec (relaciones geograficas)

New Digital Item-of-the-Month series begins this week

October 5, 2020
colorful eighteenth-century map of the northern coast of Hispaniola
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Plano y Descripcion Del Puerto del Guarico questa en la Ysla Española…, 1736

August 30, 2020
engraved map of the island of Hispaniola with present-day Haiti and Santo Domingo, including sea monsters, ships, and a compass
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L'isole piu famose del mondo…, 1572

February 25, 2020
Plan of the city of Cartagena in present-day Colombia with decorative cartouche and other decorative elements
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Civitas Carthagena in Indiae occidentalis continente sita…, 1588

January 27, 2020
engraved and hand-colored map of northeastern North America including present-day Maine to Virginia
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Recens Edita totius Novi Belgii, in America Septenrionali…, 1730

November 26, 2019
detail of cartouche of a map of northeastern North America
Lecture

Frames that Speak: An Introduction to Cartographic Cartouches

See Also

Spanish

Nahuatl