Landmarks of Cartography
The Bancroft Library houses one of the best historic map collections in the United States. Consequently, we have examples of many of the milestones in the history of cartography. On display are maps from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries that advanced knowledge of the world we live in.
Le grand atlas
This is one of twelve volumes that make up what was the largest and most expensive book published in the seventeenth century. The Bancroft Library has the French edition, but it was also produced with the text in Latin, Dutch, German, and Spanish. This mammoth work includes 594 maps and around 3,000 pages of text. The Library is fortunate to possess a beautifully hand-colored set.
Antonio García Cubas, Atlas pintoresco é histórico de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Title page
Carta política
Carta etnográfica
Carta eclesiástica
Vías de comunicación y movimiento marítimo
Instrucción pública
Carta orográfica
Carta agrícola
Carta histórica y arqueológica
México y sus cercanías
[Railroads between New York and San Francisco with scenes on the way], ca. 1872
This board game follows the railroad lines from New York City to San Francisco, including the New York and Erie Railroad, the Michigan Central Railroad, the Great Western Railroad, the Burlington Route, the Union Pacific Railroad, and the Central Pacific Railroad. Numerous towns and train depots are also shown, among them Kalamazoo, Albia, Toano, Battle Mountain, Truckee, and Oakland.