hcl.harvard.edu

Taking the Measure of Rhode Island: A Cartographical Tour
February – June 2009
Rhode Island seems to invite superlatives: the first state to promote religious liberty, earliest to industrialize, most densely populated, smallest in area, yet able to boast that it is the state that has been most mapped per square mile. This exhibit examined the cartographical history of Rhode Island from the colonial period to the early 20th century, with examples of boundary surveys, state maps, nautical charts, town plans, city and state atlases, topographical and geological maps, road guides, and bird's eye views.

From the Amazon to the Volga: The Cartographic Representation of Rivers
September 2008 – January 2009
For centuries cartographers have wrestled with the difficulties of depicting rivers, and in the process they have devised many ingenious ways of answering the challenge—from streambed profiles to bird’s eye views, ranging in format from portfolio atlases to strip maps, accordion books, and scrolls. This exhibit examined how mapmakers from the 15th century to the early 20th century sought to measure, track, and frame some of the major rivers of the world, including the Tigris and Euphrates, Amazon, Don, Danube, Nile, Congo, Rhine, Volga, and Mississippi.

Mapping the White Mountains
April – July 2006
This exhibition featured the early mapping of New Hampshire's majestic mountains from 1677–1988. The exhibit included John Foster's map of New England in 1677, Joseph Blanchard and Samuel Langdon's 1761 map of New Hampshire, Samuel Holland's 1784 map, a rare Carrigain edition, AMC maps, USGS maps, and Bradford Washburn's 1988 map of Mount Washington.

Mapping California as an Island
December 2005 – March 2006
This exhibit featured a selection of French, Dutch, German, and English maps and atlases including the first depiction of this cartographic anomaly appearing in 1622.

Lots and Lots: Early Maps of Parts of Boston and Cambridge
November 2004 – March 2005

Recent Acquisitions and Interesting Finds
July – November 2004
A selection of recent atlas and map acquisitions plus some unusual maps discovered among the Map Collections holdings.

Civitatis Londinium: London from 1572
February – June 2004
Spanning over four centuries, the exhibition documented how one of the cultural centers of the world grew from town to city to mega-metropolis.

Treasures of the Harvard Map Collection
June – September 2003
In conjunction with the 20th International Conference on the History of Cartography, the Harvard College Library hosted its first exhibit to highlight Harvard's cartographic treasures. Featured were items from the Houghton Library's Leichtenstein Collection, the Harvard Map Collection, the Gutman Library of the Graduate School of Education, and the Harvard Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments. Items included: Casper Vopel's ca. 1558 world map in 12 sheets; Jodocus Hondius' 1595 eight-sheet map of Europe; John Seller's 1675 map of New England; Lewis Evan's 1749 map of the Middle British Colonies; Sanuto's 1588 atlas of Africa; Jeremy Belknap's 1796 manuscript maps of the boundaries between the United States. and the Indians; a Korean manuscript atlas from the 17th century; Haestens' 16th century six-sheet map of Jerusalem; and Osgood Carleton's map of the United States and his 1797 map of Boston.

The Pictorial Maps of Ernest Dudley Chase
Featured selections from Mr. Chase's gifts to the Harvard Map Collection. Ernest Dudley Chase (1878–1966), a graphic artist from Winchester, Massachusetts, designed pictorial maps ranging in scale from his own hometown to global themes of navigation, exploration, communication, and world peace. He could be alternately whimsical, didactic, and subtly allusive—often on the same map.

The All-American Road Map
September 2002 – January 2003
Featured early road maps representing the development of the nation's roadway system.

Shaping the Emerald Isle: Early Irish Maps 1548–1860
December 2001 – March 2002
Featured maps of Ireland from 1548 (Gastaldi), large-scale maps by John Rocque and Henry Pelham, and the unique cartography developed by the Irish Railway Commission.

Emergent Africa: Early Maps of the Continent
May – August 2001
Featured 23 original maps from the past 500 years that reveal the European exploration of the continent. Each was selected for its artistic, historic, and regional representation of the image of Africa as it emerged in the world's eye.

A House Divided: Maps of the Civil War
September 2000 – March 2001
Featured 35 Civil War period maps. Many of the maps were donations by the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), Union officers who gathered to pledge their continued allegiance to the government during the dark days that followed the Lincoln assassination.