Early Mapmaking - Map Making History

Magazine and news articles about early mapmaking and map making history. Free online. Great cartography and interesting articles on maps.

The Power of Maps: How They Shape Our World

If you are curious about all aspects of cartography, from the historical development of mapping techniques to specialised maps and their contents, then you should read up on our collection of articles about maps. Learn more about the insights they can bring and the fascinating stories they can tell.

Europe’s Many Alliances, reimagined as a metro system – Map Making History

Illustrating the many ways that European countries are bound together.

Weiyi Cai, Laris Karklis etc., Washington Post 2016

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How Maps Reveal, and Conceal, History

Susan Schulten, Process Blog 2018

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A Map of Every Building in America

On this page you will find maps showing almost every building in the United States.

Tim Wallace et al, NY Times, 2018

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The Mapmaker’s Craft: A History of Cartography at CIA

Tracing its roots to October 1941, CIA’s Cartography Center has a long, proud history of service to the Intelligence Community (IC) and continues to respond to a variety of finished intelligence map requirements. The mission of the Cartography Center is to provide a full range of maps, geographic analysis, and research in support of the Agency, the White House, senior policymakers, and the IC at large. Its chief objectives are to analyze geospatial information, extract intelligence-related geodata, and present the information visually in creative and effective ways for maximum understanding by intelligence consumers.

Central Intelligence Agency 2016

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Recently Opened Series: German World War II Maps – Early Mapmaking

“This series contains German maps that display the locations of the Allied armies at different times in 1944 and 1945. The maps include information on various Allied unit locations and the situations the Axis armies were facing at that time.”

The Unwritten Record, National Archives, 2017

Samuel de Champlain’s General Maps of New France – Map Making History

“In the fall of 1612, Samuel de Champlain had an engraving of his first detailed map of New France made in Paris. The map contained new geographic information, based on his own explorations from 1603 onward.”

Library and Archives Canada Blog 2013

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Six maps that show the anatomy of America’s vast infrastructure

“Donald Trump’s plan to invest about $550 billion in new infrastructure projects across the country was a central theme in his campaign. The maps you are about to see show the massive scope of America’s infrastructure using data from OpenStreetMap and various government sources. They provide a glimpse into where that half-trillion dollars may be invested.”

Tim Meko, Washington Post 2016

The Library of Congress Is Putting Its Map Collection on the Map – Early Mapmaking

A new partnership with the Digital Public Library of America will put three major LOC map collections online

Danny Lewis, Smithsonian 2016

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The Mystery of Extraordinarily Accurate Medieval Maps – Map Making History

Beautifully detailed portolan charts present historians with a puzzle: How were they made? A mathematical analysis offers some clues.

Julie Rehmeyer, Discovery 2014

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The Forbidden City to Convict’s Landing: rare early city maps- in pictures – Early Mapmaking

From London when it had only one bridge, to a pictorial rendition of Sir Francis Drake’s invasion of Santo Domingo, these global city maps date back to the 1500s and are taken from Great City Maps, published by DK.

The Guardian 2016

More than a map: the Ordnance Survey’s huge but hidden cultural impact

The Ordnance Survey in nineteenth-century Ireland had a huge cultural influence on not just the Gaelic and Anglo-Irish Revivals but also Synge, Joyce and Beckett.