Historic Maps on the Web

California Historic Topographic Maps

This is a project from the University of California to provide Web access to the historic topographic quadrangles produced by the U.S. Geological Survey between 1895 to the present. Selected editions for maps covering the greater San Francisco Bay are currently available.

Canada at Scale

An exhibit of historic maps of Canada digitized by the National Archives of Canada.

Cartographic Images

Scanned images of antique maps or details from such maps available for downloading. Maps are divided into these time categories: Ancient (6000 BC - AD 400), Medieval (AD 400-1300), Late Medieval (1300-1500), and Renaissance (1500-1880).

Cities  Here are some scanned images online:

• U.S. cities and towns from the Library of Congress collections, mostly panoramic ("bird's-eye-view") maps.
• U.S. historical city maps from the Automobile Blue Book (1920) or from the U.S. Geological Survey, scanned by The University of Texas at Austin's Perry-Casteñeda Library Map Collection.
• Chicago in the 1920's and 1930's  Maps depicting social and demographic characteristics of Chicago, by Census Tract.

• Dutch city plans from Blaeu's Toonneel der Steden (1652).
• Historic Cities: The maps available so far depict European cities, mostly from the 16th century. Options to view low- or high-resolution images and to purchase poster versions of some maps.
• London: Map of John Snow's London in 1859  The user can zoom in on this detailed mid-19th century map of London.
• Paris Maps of the 18th and 19th Century  Prepared by Prof. Barry Bergdoll of the Art History Dept. at Columbia University.
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania  The Historic Pittsburgh Maps Collection consists of scanned plat maps and will eventually show property lines and land ownership from 1872 to 1939.

David Rumsey Collection

High resolution map images available for viewing online, focusing on 18th and 19th century North and South American cartographic materials. The image browser allows zooming and panning employing dynamic HTML and JavaScript. An alternative Java Client can also be downloaded to view the images.

Dutch Cartographers

Selected images of Dutch city maps from Blaeu's Toonneel der Steden (1652), the Janssonius map of the Netherlands (1658), De Vyerighe Colom of Jacob Aertsz Colom, and the Civitates orbis terrarum of Braun and Hogenberg (1572-1617).

Europe: First Atlas of Europe by Mercator

Digitized by the British Library. Requires downloading and installing the Macromedia Shockwave plug-in.

Exploring the West from Monticello

An Exhibition of maps and navigational instruments at the University of Virginia.

Hargrett Library Rare Map Collection

At the University of Georgia.

Heritage Map Museum

A commercial dealer in antiquarian maps.

Historical Maps of the United States

Scanned at The University of Texas at Austin's Perry-Casteñeda Library Map Collection.  Mostly maps depicting U.S. history that were published in the National Atlas of the United States (1970).  Includes some 19^th and early 20^th century U.S. Government maps, maps of U.S. National Historic Sites, and many U.S. historical city maps of the same period from the Automobile Blue Book and the U.S. Geological Survey. 

Library of Congress Map Collections: 1597 -1988

Leads to many scanned images of historical maps in the library's collections in the following categories:

• cities and towns (includes the panoramic map collection)
• conservation and environment (Mapping the National Parks)
• discovery and exploration
• immigration and settlement (includes maps of Liberia)
• military battles and campaigns (includes the Civil War Maps Collection)
  [see also U.S. National Historic Site maps at The University of Texas]
• transportation and communication (includes railroad map collection)
• general maps.

MapForum.com

An online magazine devoted to antique maps.

MapHist Discussion Group

"MapHist, the Map History Discussion List, is an e-mail discussion group whose primary focus is historical maps, atlases, globes and other cartographic documents."

Map History / History of Cartography

A thorough guide compiled by Tony Campbell, former Map Librarian at The British Library. Besides the search box, you can enter the site using either the "Sitemap" (broad subject categories) or the "Index" (alphabetical listing of detailed subjects).  Includes the following lists of web sites: Images of Early Maps on the Web and Web Articles and Commentaries on Specific Topics in the History of Cartography.

New England Historic USGS Maps

Fifteen-minute (1:62,500 scale) USGS topographic quadrangle maps of New England states, scanned and downloadable in quarter quadrangles as JPEG images (about 1.75-2 megabytes each).

Office of Coast Survey Historical Map and Chart Collection

Information about the collection and some scanned in images.

Panoramic Maps, 1847-1922

Bird's-eye view maps from the Library of Congress.

Road Map Collectors of America

An organization that collects fold-up highway maps.

Scotland: Historic maps at the National Library of Scotland

Scanned maps from 1560 to the early 20th century.

Silkmaps.com

This site contains information on maps printed on silk during World War II by Britain and the United States for easy portability and durability, to be used by troops in escape and evasion. Includes listings and of known silk maps produced by the US Army Air Force (AAF) and by Naval Air Combat Intelligence-Hydrographic Office (NACI-HO). Includes small images of the maps.

State Maps, 1895

From a Rand-McNally Atlas of the World.  From index, click on state to get to a link to these maps (there are also other kinds of maps for each states).

State Maps, 1895

As above, but from a different site.  Allows you to download smaller county-sized maps.

Yahoo : Business and Economy : Shopping and Services : Antiques and Collectibles : Maps

Lists dealers of antique maps, sellers of facsimile maps, and other related businesses.