David Rumsey Map Collection

Early Wall and Case Maps of the United States, 1796 to 1833
Arrowsmith, Tardieu, Carleton, Lewis, Lay, Varle, Robinson, and Vance
12 large maps of the eastern United States by various publishers over a period of 37 years from 1796 to 1833.  All of the maps borrow from each other, gradually adding updated and more accurate geographic information over time. The Arrowsmith maps printed in London are among the earliest to show the young United States, followed by updated copies made in Paris by Tardieu, Carleton's version published in Boston, then the very large wall maps by Lewis, and other variations by Lay, Varle, Robinson, and Vance. View Maps

Cary's Survey of the High Roads From London, 1790
Cary, John, London
An early strip map atlas of the roads leading outward from London, in all directions. The title page lists some of the many attributes of the strip map sheets: "On a Scale of one Inch to a Mile; wherein Every Gentleman's Seat, situate on, or seen from the Road, (however distant) are laid down, with the name of the Possessor; to which is added The Number of Inns on each separate route; also, the different Turnpike Gates, shewing The Connection which one trust has with another." View Atlas

English road atlases like this one no doubt influenced contemporary American road books such as Christopher Colles' Survey of the Roads of the United States of 1789 and The Traveler's Directory by Moore and Jones, 1802. 

Map of Pennsylvania, 1822
Melish, John, Philadelphia
First edition. A large wall map of Pennsylvania and one of the finest maps of the state in the early 19th century. Compared with the 1826 case map edition, there are many changes. The 1826 edition adds the delineation of topography adjoining the river systems, roads in almost every county, numerous changes in the emerging coal regions in the east central part of the state, more mountains and plateaus. View Map

Atlas Classique De La Geographie, 1839
Monin, C.V., Paris
A very sophisticated college atlas; the mountains and rivers table has no engraver listed but is clearly derived from or by Bulla, the author of the first table in this format published in 1826. See Garner's chart of 1823, and see our blog post on mountains and rivers maps for interesting comparisons. There are also two excellent thematic plates: Tableau de Geographie Physique and the Tableau de Systeme Solaire. View Atlas

United States Of America, 1830, 1832, 1834
Tanner, Henry S., Philadelphia
Three editions of Henry Tanner's large and detailed case map of the United States are added to the online collection, dated 1830, 1832, and 1834, which when added to the 1829 and 1839 editions already online, give an excellent 10 year view of the changes to this important map and to the country from 1829 to 1839.  View All 5 Editions of the Map

Nine Editions of Mitchell's Reference & Distance Map of the United States, 1834 - 1846
Mitchell, Samuel Augustus, Philadelphia
Mitchell's Reference & Distance Map of the United States was one of the most important American wall maps produced in the 1830's and 1840's.  It was drawn and engraved by James H. Young. The map was large -about 5ft tall and 6ft wide. Shown in this group are the nine new online editions plus a tenth edition already online.  View Maps

Map of the United States Of North America, 1842
Burr, David H., London
This large four sheet wall map of the United States west to the 100th meridian must have been intended to accompany Burr's 1839 thirteen sheet American Atlas of postal wall maps. The American Atlas has a large map of the United States from coast to coast, but it lacks the detail of this wall map, which shows most of the postal roads, canals, and railroads that are delineated on the large scale individual state maps of the American Atlas. That detail makes this wall map one of the best large area road maps of the United States as a whole, of the period - more detailed than Tanner's Map of the United States or Mitchell's Reference and Distance Map of the United States, shown above. View Map

Stream Of Time, Or Chart Of Universal History, From The Original German Of Strass. Revised By D. Haskel, 1842
Colton, J.H., New York
Stream of Time maps were popular in the second half of the 19th century (see our 1858 Tableau De L'Histoire Universelle by Pick) and later, but this map or diagram by Colton is an early example, at least in the United States. The period covered starts with the Creation in 4004 BC and extends down to 1842. The bottom of the map has an explanation which states that "Each Nation is represented by a stream which is broken in upon or flows on undisturbed as it is influenced by the accession of Territory or the remaining at Peace." View Map

Maps of the State of Maine, 1844 - 1862
Greenleaf Moses; Colton, J.H.; DeSilver, Charles; Walling, H.F.; Chase, J. New York, Philadelphia, Portland
Five maps showing Maine's evolution over an 18 year period of great change and expansion. 2 wall maps, 2 pocket maps, and 1 case map. View Maps

View all Maine Maps in the online Collection.

General - Karte Des Oesterreichischen Kaiserstaates, 1856
Scheda, Josef, Wien
Joseph Scheda was an Engineer in the Geographic Corps, Militarisch Geografischen Institute, Austria. His map shows the extent of the Austrian Empire in 1856. It is comprised of 20 sheets, each dissected into 6 sections. Incredible detail throughout the map. A triumph of Austrian/German engraving. The 20 sheets cover most of central and southern Europe. A digital composite image joins all 20 sheets together in one large map. View Maps

Map of The World On Mercator's Projection, 1847 and 1857
Colton, J. H.; Johnson, D. Griffing, New York
One of the great American World Wall maps of the period. Colton took over the publishing of this map in 1849. The 1847 edition is by Johnson and the 1857 edition is by Colton. Table of distances. Shows numerous routes followed by historic mariners including observations of birds on the high seas. The 1857 edition has numerous annotations in French by a traveler going around the world.  View Maps

The Cottage Ornament, 1856
Ensign, Bridgman & Fanning, New York
This is an unusually decorative map by a group of New York map publishers known for their use of portraits, views, and information graphics (the universal Dial Plate showing times at different places around the world, etc.) on their maps. In this large wall map they seem to have added all the views used in all their different publications in one map. The map's title is an understatement. View Map

Map Of The Vicinity Of Philadelphia, 1860
Lake, D.J.; Beers, S.N., Philadelphia
A very large, detailed map showing land owners around Philadelphia. This copy is one of eight issues of the map (Ristow). This issue has inset maps and business directories of Philadelphia, Germantown, Frankford, Bridesburg plus five small towns (all at the top), and Manayunk, Falls of Schuykill, Hestonville, Paschallville, Tacony and Holmesburg at the bottom. Other issues of the map have Philadelphia and Trenton and Philadelphia and Camden in the titles. Lake and Beers may have done eight issues to cover different parts of the local market, much in the manner of Beers' six different issues of his Atlas of New York and Vicinity of 1867-8. The date of 1860 on the map has been changed to 1869 by someone drawing the "9" in place of the "0" which probably had rubbed off. View Map

The Washington Map Of The United States, 1861 and 1862
Smith, Robert P.; Taintor, S. & Co., New York and Philadelphia
Four editions from 1861 and 1862 of this huge and important wall map of the United States, published on the eve of the U.S. Civil War. The 1862 edition is one of the earliest maps to show the states who "claim to have seceded from the United States" in a small note on the right below the title. There are many inset views, portraits of the Presidents in the borders, and thematic inset maps. Smith also published a similar wall map in 1862, the New Naval and Military Map of the United States, which explicitly references the Civil War that had just begun. View Maps

Atlas Universel De Geographie Physique, Politique, Ancienne Et Moderne, 1875
Brue, A.H.; Levasseur, E., Paris
The last edition seen of the Brue Atlas Universel which began in 1822. E. Levasseur was brought in by the publisher to make updates to all the maps, with varying degrees of success. There is an attempt to improve the American maps from the 1866 edition, but they are still ridiculously outdated. Nonetheless, this is a handsome relic of what was once a great atlas. One of the two world maps is unusual in showing geologic formations on several continents. A newly added Tableau Synthetique de Cosmographie provides graphical and textual depictions of several attributes of planetary systems and the earth. The Avertissement pages list in detail the improvements made in the map sheets. View Atlas

Historical Map Of The United States Showing Early Spanish, French & English Discoveries And Explorations Also Forts, Towns & Battle Fields Of Historic Interest, 1876
Blanchard, Rufus, Chicago
This map was published for the 1876 U.S. Centennial celebrations and reflects Blanchard's growing interest in American history during the mid 1870's. Shows historical events on a large map of the Eastern United States from Columbus to about 1840. Six inset facsimiles of early maps. A tablet of history is mounted on the verso.  View Map

Paris Et Ses Environs. Carte Geologique Detaillee. Carte Topographique De L'Etat Major, 1890
Service Geologique Des Mines (France), Paris
This map has incredible detail, showing the geological formations around Paris plus the topographical depiction of the area at the end of the 19th century. 4 sheets, each dissected into 18 sections, mounded and edged with linen. Plus a composite image of all 4 sheets joined together. With printed full color by geological formations.  View Map

Rand, McNally & Co.'s New Shippers' Railroad Map of the United States, 1891
Rand McNally, Chicago
This is a huge 13 part map of the United States railroads from the east coast to the 105th meridian. When all 13 parts are joined, they form a map more than 12 feet high by 20 feet wide. Railroads are shown in great detail at a scale of 8 miles to 1 inch, making this one of the largest scale railroad maps of the late 19th century. 2 additional maps show the U.S. from the west coast east to the 93rd meridian, at a smaller scale.View Maps

Lines Of The Bell Telephone Companies. United States And Canada, 1910
American Telephone and Telegraph, Boston
Shows the extent of telephone lines in the U.S. and Canada in 1910. The long distance lines are primarily in the eastern half of the country, with one line running as far west as Denver. There are no long distance lines in the west, and few local lines except in California. However, there are many lines in the mid west, with Iowa having greater phone development than Pennsylvania. A fascinating map showing the growth of the phone system at an early stage. View Map

Andrews' Schoolroom Chart Of Geographical Illustrations, 1915
Rutley, F., London
Date is approximate. A wonderful large school chart intended to show all kinds of Geographical Illustrations and how they convey information. Maps include: Map Of Europe, untitled birds eye view of land formations, The Earth In Space, The World In Hemispheres, Zones (also showing mountains of the world), The Seasons, Hemispheres Shewing The Proportion Of Land To Water, and Points Of The Compass (showing rivers of the world). Profile is titled "Section Of The Earth's Crust." View Map

Rand McNally Commercial Atlas of America, 1924
Rand McNally and Company, Chicago
This edition has excellent auto route maps of the entire United States. The atlas combines detailed railroad maps and distance maps based on railroads, with the new and growing automobile road system maps showing the road "trail" markings which we presume are an early attempt to provide consistent naming of roads that extend beyond local routes. In addition there are copious indexes showing place names, railroads, population statistics, post offices, telegraph stations, and more. The maps of large cities show the location of major railroad depots, stations, and yards. Maps are often with printed color. View Atlas

The Histomap. Four Thousand Years Of World History. Relative Power Of Contemporary States, Nations And Empires, 1925
Rand McNally and Company, Chicago
A classic 20th century version of a stream of time map showing the flow of history from 2000 B.C. to 1925. The printed sheet of explanation that accompanies the map states: "To the casual reader a Histomap will open a new field of thought. It will enlarge his vision and add zest to his reading. To the student of history it is a necessary auxiliary to that subject, as necessary as the map is to geography and should form the basis from which the intelligent reader can widen and deepen his knowledge by further reading. The Histomap fills a long felt need. It is modern in theory and practice.  It presents an actual picture of the world's history bristling with significant facts in orderly correlation, with which the reader will easily associate, (and therefore remember) all the related facts and ideas that he may pick up in his daily reading. Only by this active association of newly acquired facts and ideas into an orderly background of general history can the reader hope to remember and understand their significance and to appreciate the essential continuity and unity of the histories of all peoples.  Accomplishing this he approaches that ideal of every intelligent reader, a true understanding of the struggles of the past and some degree of true vision of the future." View Map