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| Frederik de Wit and Guiseppe Longhi, Nove totius terrarum orbis tabula (Bologna: Giuseppe Longhi, ca. 1680). Newberry Library Novacco Map 9F 001 | |
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| Jan Jansson, "Lugdunum vulgo Lyon," in Illustriorum regni Galliæ civitatum tabulaæ, vol. 4 of his [Theatrum Urbium] (Amsterdam: Jansson, 1657). Newberry Library Case +G 117 .452 vol. 4 | |
More than a diagram of how to get from here to there, maps are a reflection of the time and place they were created and the people they directed. They are art, history, politics, and discovery drawn in symbols, rather than written in words. But overall, maps are treasured because they answer the universal human need to comprehend and function in the world.
Cartographic Treasures of the Newberry Library featured nearly 80 cartographic treasures from the Newberry’s collection of 500,000 maps. The exhibit was organized into six thematic sections representing the fundamental ways that maps have been used throughout five centuries:
Grasping the World included several landmarks of early atlas-making, innovative world maps, pedagogical maps, and globes and games that reflect the human desire to comprehend the world and give it meaningful form;
Inventing the Nation examined how maps and atlases have been employed to support European and American nation-building as tools of government, colonization, and propaganda;
Contesting Places illustrated how maps have been used as tools of warfare, negotiation, and commemoration throughout history;
Conquering Distances addressed how maps have brought people together by assisting in the development and use of transportation networks;
Celebrating the City showed how maps and views capture the essence of urban geography, architecture, and social life; and
Plotting the Countryside demonstrated the various ways in which maps served in the land division, settlement, and rural landscape designs.