Book Arts & Rare Book Collections: Atlas & Travel Collection

The Travel and Atlas collection is an artifact of research trends among university faculty in the humanities and social sciences over time. This collection has volumes of travel and adventure writing and geography, atlases, and a collection of antique and historic world maps. Though travel writing has fallen out of vogue, this collection offers a rich selection of material about various cultures, regions, and geographies through the lens of historic writers. The perspectives and depictions are indicative of cultural and temporal biases and changes in geographical knowledge and political conflict. 

A highlight of the collection are the 35 maps showcasing the work of eighteenth-century French cartographer, Guillaume de L’Isle, and maps from the atlas “Atlantis Geographicus Maior” by Matthaeus Seutter. 

Special Collections has undertaken an extensive digitization project for the collection of world maps which you can browse here.

Please find a list of print, online, and audio/visual resources to start your research. This section serves as a jumping off point and is by no means exhaustive.