LibGuides: Guide to Online Primary Sources: Maps

Links to collections

16th- Early 20th Century Maps of Africa
Features digital copies of 113 antique maps of Africa and accompanying text dating from the mid 16th Century to the early 20th Century.
American Memory: Maps
Historical map collection from the Library of Congress.
AtoZ Maps Online
Political, physical, outline, population, climate, historical, and many other types of maps available for downloading and printing for educational purposes only. Maps available in a variety of file formats. New maps are added monthly.
David Rumsey Map Collection
The David Rumsey Collection was started nearly 20 years ago, and focuses primarily on cartography of the Americas from the 18th and 19th centuries, but also has maps of the World, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. The collection includes atlases, globes, school geographies, books, maritime charts, and a variety of separate maps, including pocket, wall, children's and manuscript.

Digital Sanborn Maps This link opens in a new window
Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867–1970, provides access to more than 660,000 large-scale maps of more than 12,000 American towns and cities. Sanborn fire insurance maps are the most frequently consulted maps in both public and academic libraries. Sanborn maps are valuable historical tools for urban specialists, social historians, architects, geographers, genealogists, local historians, planners, environmentalists and anyone who wants to learn about the history, growth, and development of American cities, towns, and neighborhoods.

Historical Map Web Sites
Extensive list of links to historical map collections online. From the Perry-Castaneda Library.

Mapping Gothic France This link opens in a new window
With a database of images, texts, charts and historical maps, Mapping Gothic France invites you to explore the parallel stories of Gothic architecture and the formation of France in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Maps and Images (from the Internet History Sourcebook)*
Large selection of map images.
Old Maps Online
Allows the user to search for online historical maps across numerous different collections via a geographical search. Search by typing a place-name or by clicking in the map window, and narrow by date.
Pacific Basin Nautical Charts
Charts of the Pacific Ocean, circa 1910-1960.
Persuasive Maps: The PJ Mode Collection
"This is a collection of “persuasive” cartography: more than 800 maps intended primarily to influence opinions or beliefs - to send a message - rather than to communicate geographic information...Maps in the collection address a wide range of messages: religious, political, military, commercial, moral and social."
Topographical Collection of King George III
Printed and hand-drawn works dating between 1500 and 1824, covering a broad variety of themes, from the British Library.
World Digital LIbrary
More than 300 map images, dating from 8000BC to 1949AD and representing at least 100 geographic areas. Use limiters in left column to focus search on a specific geography, date range or topic. Also offers a keyword search box at top of page.