The American Geographical Society Library recently acquired two 18th-century maps and restored two 18th-century atlases thanks to a gift from the John Quincy Adams Foundation of the Order of Founders and Patriots of America. The French-language 1776 map from German cartographer Matthäus Albrecht Lotter depicts …
The American Geographical Society Library recently acquired the Karen Wynn Fonstad Collection, including the original manuscript maps of The Atlas of Middle-Earth. A cartographer from Oshkosh, Fonstad was a lifelong fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work. Upon her passing in 2005, Fonstad left her family an archive of nearly 1,000 map …
Thanks to the work of Digital Collections & Initiatives, the American Geographical Society Library has recently made available a digitized 1478 copy of Ptolemy’s Geography. The AGSL holds over 30 volumes from copies of Ptolemy’s Geography, with this digitization marking the tenth …
The American Geographical Society Library will conserve rare atlases from its Rare Materials Room thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation. The grant will facilitate the repair of five maritime navigational atlases dating from 1693, and other rare atlases with the balance of funding. Part of a more than 20,000-item rare …
The American Geographical Society Library named three national scholars as AGSL Research Fellows for 2026. Each will receive a stipend to travel to Milwaukee and conduct research at the AGSL. Cy Abbott, University of Oregon PhD candidate in geography, will examine the …
“Partridge and Frink haven’t been entirely forgotten nor erased like so many others, but there is still a lack of visibility and understanding about their personal dynamics and professional impact… While doing my research, I found nearly every component in …
While north is the direction at the top of most maps, some maps defy this cartographic convention. Whether for aesthetics, religion, nationalism, or perspective, this exhibit highlights different styles of map facing every direction on the compass.
Check out the exhibit cases near the first floor Grind to see some materials of the American Geographical Society Library (located on the third floor, east wing), some of which will have you quaking in your boots!
The oldest and rarest manuscript map in the American Geographical Society Library’s collection–Venetian cartographer Giovanni Leardo’s 1452 mappamundi–will be scanned using multispectral technology in March this year. A team from the Lazarus Project, based at the University of Rochester, is …
One of the American Geographical Society Library’s most cherished holdings, the 1452 Mappamundi by the Venetian cartographer Giovanni Leardo, is undergoing multispectral imaging this winter. Join us for a series of events, starting with a talk by AGSL Curator Marcy …