Field Notes
Catawba deerskin map (1929 facsimile)
Circles and connecting paths put communities and relationships at the center of this map of the Southeast. It preserves an Indigenous view through copies of a deerskin original…
From the Index
Collection: The Lost Surveyor Map Archive
Maps tell stories about how people understand, measure, navigate, and imagine the world. This growing collection brings together historic maps and map-like objects, with descriptions, creators, dates, source institutions, and rights information that help place each work in context.
Field Notes
Map of the alluvial region of the Mississippi
The river is only part of the subject on this map: the surrounding alluvial region is the central feature. By following the Mississippi from Cape Girardeau to its…
Field Notes
Universalis cosmographia secundum Ptholomaei traditionem et Americi Vespucii aliorumque lustrationes
Martin Waldseemüller’s twelve-sheet world map is famous for using the name America, but it is also a striking record of geographic knowledge in transition. Classical traditions and reports…
Field Notes
A plan of the west line or parallel of latitude, which is the boundary between the provinces of Maryland and Pensylvania
A disputed colonial boundary becomes a precisely described line in this plan of Mason and Dixon’s survey. Published in Philadelphia in 1768, it records the westward boundary and…
Field Notes
A map of Lewis and Clark’s track across the western portion of North America, from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean
Published years after the expedition returned, this map turned a difficult journey into a picture readers could study at home. Rivers, mountain systems and the expedition’s route reveal…
Field Notes
Franklin-Folger chart of the Gulf Stream
A powerful ocean current becomes a visible route-planning problem on this chart. Franklin and Nantucket captain Timothy Folger combined practical maritime knowledge with a printed Atlantic chart to…
Field Notes
A diagram of the triangulation for the survey of the coast of the United States made in 1817 and 1833: and the secondary triangles made in 1833 & 1834 in Connecticut & upon Long Island
A network of triangles reveals the framework behind coastal mapping. Instead of concentrating on finished shoreline detail, this diagram shows how survey stations were connected across Connecticut, Long…
Field Notes
Plat of the seven ranges of townships being part of the territory of the United States, N.W. of the River Ohio
The orderly township grid of the Seven Ranges makes the beginnings of the federal rectangular survey system visible. Published by Mathew Carey from work associated with Thomas Hutchins,…
Field Notes
Geographically Correct Indexed Township Map of Florida and Southern Georgia
The Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad’s system is laid over a township-and-range framework, with insets extending the view to the western state and wider connections. This is valuable…
Field Notes
Bahía de Tampa
This Spanish nautical chart depicts Tampa Bay with coastal islands and depth information, with north directed toward the upper right of the sheet. Its orientation is a useful…