Bibliophiles, history buffs and treasure seekers will be among the fans of maps such as this early 19th-century depiction of the United States. (Note, for instance, the one Virginia and “District of Main.”) It’s part of retired real estate developer David Rumsey’s collection—150,000 maps, atlases and cartographic items such as globes—he is donating to Stanford, which will create a repository for a complete set of digital images. The breadth and rarity of the 18th- and 19th-century material, featuring North and South America, is immediately obvious at Rumsey's website, where more than 20,000 images of maps and other items are online.
NEWS
My, How We've Grown
University gains 150,000-item collection of centuries-old cartography.
May/June 2009Reading time min
Courtesy David Rumsey Collection
