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MAP REFERENCES
Below are two groups of map references: one list of general interest, and one annotated list of references specific to Africa. We strongly encourage map collectors to acquire reference materials so they can learn more about their maps and map collecting in general.
General List of Map References
Betz, Richard L., with Penelope W. Betz. The Mapping of Africa: A Cartobibliography of Printed Maps of the African Continent to 1700. 't Goy-Houten, The Netherlands: HES & De Graaf Publishers, 2007.
Broecke, Marcel P.R. van den. Ortelius Atlas Maps, an Illustrated Guide, The Netherlands: HES Publishers, 1996.
Burden, Philip D. The Mapping of North America: A List of Printed Maps 1511-1670. Rickmansworth: Raleigh Publications, 1996.
Campbell, Tony. The Earliest Printed Maps 1472-1500. London: The British library, 1987.
Campbell, Tony. Map Collector’ Series, No. 24: New Light on the Jansson-Visscher Maps of New England. Map Collectors’ Circle, 1965.
Cumming, William P., et al. The Discovery of North America. London: Elek, 1971.
Cumming, William P., et al. The Exploration of North America 1630-1776. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1974.
Cumming, William P. The Southeast in Early Maps. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1998.
French, Josephine (editor). Tooley's Dictionary of Mapmakers A-D. Tring: Map Collector Publications Ltd., 1999.
Goss, John. The Mapmakers Art: An Illustrated History of Cartography. Rand McNally, 1993.
Goss, John. The Mapping of North America: Three Centuries of Map-Making 1500-1860. Secaucus: The Wellfleet Press, 1990.
Goss, John. Blaeu’s The Grand Atlas of the 17th Century World. Barnes and Noble Books, 1997.
Johnson, Adrian. America Explored. New York: The Viking Press, 1974.
Karrow, Robert W. Jr. Mapmakers of the Sixteenth Century and Their Maps. Chicago: Speculum Orbis Press, 1993.
Klemp, Egon. Africa on Maps Dating From the Twelfth to the Eighteenth Century. Leipzig: 1968.
Krogt, Peter van der. Koeman's Atlantes Neerlandici, vol. 1 (Mercator Hondius), 2 (Blaeu), and 3 (Ortelius). 't Goy-Houten: HES Publishers,1997, 2000, 2003.
Lorant, Stefan. The New World: The First Pictures of America. New York: Duell, Sloan & Pierce, Inc., 1946.
Map Collectors’ Circle. Map Collectors’ Series on African Maps, No. 6, 17,29, 30, 47, 48, 61, 82.
Manasek, Frank J. Collecting Old Maps, Norwich, Vt.: Terra Nova Press, 1998.
Moreland, Carl, and David Bannister. Antique Maps. 2nd. ed. Oxford: Phaidon-Cristie's, 1986.
Nebenzahl, Kenneth. Maps of the Holy Land. New York: Abbeville Press, 1986.
Nebenzahl, Kenneth. Atlas of the American Revolution. Chicago: Rand, McNally & Company, 1975.
Norwich, Oscar I. (edited by Jeffery Stone). Norwich’s Maps of Africa. Norwich, Vt.: Terra Nova Press, 1997.
Phillips, Philip Lee. A List of Geographical Atlases in the Library Of Congress. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1909 and later.
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Ptolemaeus, Claudius. Geographia Strassburg 1513 (with an introduction by R.A. Skelton). Amsterdam: Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, 1966.
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Ristow, Walter W. American Maps and Mapmakers: Commercial Cartography in the Nineteenth Century. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1985.
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Schilder, Gunter with Klaus Stopp, Monumenta Cartographica Neerlandica, vol VI: Dutch folio-sized single sheet maps with decorative borders, 1604-60, and vol VII, Cornelis Claesz,. Alphen aan den Rijn, Holland: Canaletto Repro-Holland, 2000.
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Shirley, Rodney W. The Mapping of the World: Early Printed Maps, 1472-1700. London: New Holland Publishers, Ltd.,1993.
Shirley, Rodney W. Early Printed Maps of the British Isles 1477-1650. West Sussex: Antique Atlas Publications, 1980. -
Stevens, Henry N. Ptolemy's Geography: A Brief Account of All The Printed Editions Down to 1730. Amsterdam: Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, Ltd., (1908) 1972.
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Stevenson, Edward Luther (translated and edited). Claudius Ptolemy: The Geography. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1991.
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Suarez, Thomas. Early Mapping of Southeast Asia. Singapore: Periplus Editions Ltd., 1999.
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Tooley, R.V. The Mapping of America. London: The Holland Press, Ltd., 1980.
Tooley, R.V. Collectors' Guide to Maps of the African Continent and Southern Africa. London: Carta Press, 1969.
Annotated List of Map References of Africa
Axelson, Eric. 1969. Portuguese in South-East Africa 1600-1700. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press
—- , 1973a. Portuguese in South-East Africa 1488-1600. Cape Town: C. Stuik (Pty) Ltd.,
—- , 1973b. Congo To Cape; Early Portuguese Explorers. New York: Harper & Row,
—- with Charles Boxer, Graham Bell-Cross and Colin Martin. 1988. Dias and his Successors. Cape Town: Saayman & Weber,
—- , 1998. Vasco Da Gama. The Diary of His Travels Through African Waters 1497-1499. Somerset West: Stephan Phillips.
These books by the noted South African historian, Eric Axelson, are based on primary research in Portugal on the Portuguese explorations along the coast and into the interior, particularly in southeast Africa. With numerous maps.
Betz, Richard L., with Penelope W. Betz. The Mapping of Africa: A Cartobibliography of Printed Maps of the African Continent to 1700. 't Goy-Houten, The Netherlands: HES & De Graaf Publishers, 2007.
This cartobibliography is a comprehensive listing and description of all printed maps showing the entire African continent to 1700. This includes a detailed review of over 160 distinctly different maps of Africa along with their various states; with 300 illustrations and an extensive review of the literature. Corrigenda and Addenda for this work are posted online.
Boxer, C.R. 1961. Four Centuries of Portuguese Expansion, 1415-1825: a Succinct Survey. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press.
—- , 1965. The Dutch Seaborne Empire 1600-1800. London: Penguin Books.
—- , 1969/1978. The Portuguese Seaborne Empire 1415-1825. London: Hutchinson.
—- , 1981. João de Barros: Portuguese Humanist and Historian of Asia. New Delhi: Concept.
—- , 1984. From Lisbon to Goa 1500-1750: Studies in Portuguese Maritime Enterprise. London.
Boxer was probably one of the most noted historian of the Portuguese and Dutch expansion into Africa and Asia.
Bricker, Charles, R.V. Tooley, and Gerald R. Crone. 1989. Landmarks of Mapmaking: an Illustrated Survey of Maps and Mapmaking. Ware: Wordsworth Editions.
The book, divided into regional chapters contains useful surveys of important maps and their history by region, especially post-1700 maps.
Burden, Philip. 1996. The Mapping of North America: A list of printed maps 1511-1670. Rickmansworth, England: Raleigh Publications.
—- , 2007. The Mapping of North America II: A list of printed maps 1671-1700. Rickmansworth, England: Raleigh Publications.
The most comprehensive cartobibliography of the maps of North America. These two books have usefulness for identifying maps and mapmakers for the other continents, as many books and atlases that contain maps of America also contain maps of Africa.
Campbell, Tony. 1987. The Earliest Printed Maps 1472 -1500. London: British Library.
Probably the best reference for the earliest printed maps.
Cartwright, Margaret Findlay. 1976. Maps of Africa and Southern Africa in Printed Books 1550-1750. Cape Town: University of Cape Town Libraries.
—- , 1992. Maps of the South Western Cape of Good Hope. Cape Town: South African Library
A scarce reference on the maps of southern Africa.
Cortesão, Armando, and Avelino Teixerira da Mota. 1960. Portugaliae Monumenta Cartographica volume I-VI. Lisbon: Coimbra.
—- , 1969-71. History of Portuguese Cartography. 2 vols. Coimbra: Junta de Investigacones do Ultramar-Lisboa.
Primary references by the noted Portuguese historian.Diffie, Bailey W., and George D. Winnius, 1977. Foundations of the Portuguese Empire 1415-1580 - Europe and the World in the Age of Expansion. Vol. I. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Good, in-depth coverage of the history of Portuguese, and European, expansion.
Gay, Jean. [1998]. Bibliographie Des Ouvrages Relatifs a l’Afrique et a l’Arabie : Catalogue Methodique de tousles ouvrages français & des principaux en langues étrangères traitant de la géographie, de l’histoire, du commerce, des lettres & des arts de l’Afrique & de l’Arabie . Mansfield Centre, CT.: Martino Fine Books,(n.d. but 1998). (reprint of the 1875 first edition).
An oft-cited, primary reference on Egypt and northeast Africa.
Harley, J.B., and David Woodward (editors). 1987. The History of Cartography, Volume I: Cartography in Prehistoric, Ancient and Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.
—- and —- , 1992. The History of Cartography, Volume 2, Book 1: Cartography in the Traditional Islamic and South Asian Societies. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.
Solid, in-depth history of cartography; the successor to Bagrow’s earlier work on the history of cartography.
Hoppen, Stephanie. 1975. Fifty Small and Miniature Maps of Africa. Map Collector Circle no 108.
A good listing of maps from various “Atlas Minores”. The Map Collector Circle, edited by R.V. Tooley, is an excellent series for information on maps.Kamal, Yusuf. 1926 – 1951. Monumenta Cartographica Africae et Aegypti. Volumes in 16 parts. Cairo: Privately Published. An oft-cited, primary reference on northern Africa; with images of numerous early manuscript maps of Africa.
Kammerer, Albert. 1947. La Mer Rouge, l’Abyssinie et l’Arabie aux XVI et XVII Siécles et la Cartographie des Portulans du Monde Oriental. Premiére Partie, XVI Siècle. Abyssins et Portuguais Devant l’Islam. Le Caire: Societé Royale de Geographie d’Egipte.
—- , 1949. La Mer Rouge, l’Abyssinie et l’Arabie aux XVI et XVII Siécles et la Cartographie des Portulans du Monde Oriental. Seconde Partie, XVII Siècle. Les Jesuites Portugais et l’Ephemere Triomphe du Catolicisme en Abyssinie (1603-1632). Le Caire: Societé Royale de Geographie d’Egipte.
Karrow, Robert W. 1993. Mapmakers of the Sixteenth Century and Their Maps. Chicago: Newberry Library by Speculum Orbis Press.
In my estimation, the best source for information on maps and mapmakers of the 1500s.
Klemp, Egon, 1968. Africa on Maps Dating from the Twelfth to the Eighteenth Century. Leipzig: Ed. Leipzig.
A classic reference on Africa. This is an over-size, reference work with illustrations of 77 maps and accompanying detailed descriptions of each map.
Koeman, Cornelis. 1967-1971. Atlantes Neerlandici. Bibliography of terrestrial, maritime, and celestial atlases and pilot books, published in the Netherlands up to 1880: Vol. I Van der Aa-Blaeu, Vol. II Blussé-Mercator, Vol. III Merula-Zeegers, Vol. IV: Celestial and maritime atlases and pilot books, Vol. V.: Indexes. Amsterdam: Theatrum Orbis Terrarum Ltd.
Still an excellent source for information on Dutch maps and mapmakers.
Krogt, Peter van der. 1997. Koeman’s Atlantes Neerlandici, Vol. I: The Folio Atlases published by Gerard Mercator, Jodocus Hondius, Henricus Hondius, Johannes Janssonius and Their Successors. ‘t Goy-Houten: HES.
—- , 2000. Koeman’s Atlantes Neerlandici, Vol. ll: The Folio Atlases published by Willem Jansz. Blaeu and Joan Blaeu. ’t Goy-Houten: HES & De Graaf.
—- , 2002. The Map Image of Africa. Dutch atlases of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Dutch Geography and Africa. In Dutch Geography and Africa, International Geographical Union, Section The Netherlands, 118-158. Nederlandse Geografische Studies, 300. Utrecht: Koninklijk Nederlands Aardrijkskundig Genootschap; Faculteit Ruimtelijke Wetenschappen, Universiteit Utrecht
—- , 2003. Koeman’s Atlantes Neerlandici, Vol. III: Ortelius’ Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, De Jode’s Speculum Orbis Terrarum, The Epitome, Caert-Thresoor and Atlas Minor, The Atlases of the XVII Provinces, and some other Atlases Published in the Low Countries up to c.1650. ‘t Goy-Houten: HES & De Graaf.
Excellent, comprehensive source for maps in Dutch atlases.
Lane-Poole, E.H. 1950. The Discovery of Africa: A history of the exploration of Africa reflected in the maps in the collection of the Rhodes-Livingstone Museum. Occasional Paper. Livingstone North Rhodesia: The Rhodes-Livingstone Museum.
A scarce reference on the maps of Africa; based on the collection on the Rhodes-Livingston Museum, now named Zimbabwe.
Langlands, B.W. 1961. Maps of Africa, 1540-1850: An Introduction and catalog to an exhibition of maps displayed in the Uganda Museum, September 1961. Kampala: Uganda Museum.
A scarce reference on an early African map exhibition in Kampala, Uganda.
La Roncière, Charles de. 1924. La Découverte de l’Afrique au Moyen Âge vol.1. Cairo: Mémoires de la Société Royale de Géographie d’Egypte.
—- . 1925. La Découverte de l’Afrique au Moyen Âge vol.2. Cairo: Mémoires de la Société Royale de Géographie d’Egypte.
—- . 1927. La Découverte de l’Afrique au Moyen Âge vol.3. Cairo: Mémoires de la Société Royale de Géographie d’Egypte.
Loeb-Larocque, Louis. 1989. Ces Hollandaises habillées à Paris ou L’exploitation de la cartographie hollandaise par les éditeurs parisiens au XVIIe siècle. In Theatrum Orbis Librorum. Liber Amicorum presented to Nico Israel on the occasion of his seventieth birthday, edited by Tom Croiset van Uchelen, Koert van der Horst, and Günter Schilder. Utrecht: Hes Publishers: 15-30.
Good resource for information on scarce maps of Africa produced by the French; by the noted rare book dealer, Loeb-Larocque.
Mendelssohn, Sidney. 1993. South African Bibliography. 2 volumes. Cambridge: Maurizio Martino Publisher. (reprint of the 1910 first edition).
Comprehensive listing of books dealing with South Africa, similar to the Sabin reference on the Americas.
Meurer, Peter. 1988. Atlantes Colonienses Die Kolner Schule der Atlas Kartographie 1570-1610. Bad Neustadt: Verlag Dietrich Pfaehler
Meurer thoroughly covers the School of Cologne mapmakers of the late 1500s and early 1600s.
Mickwitz, Ann-Mari, Leena Miekkavaara, and Tuula Rantanen (compiled). 1979-1995. The A.E. Nordenskiöld Collection in the Helsinki University Library, Annotated Catalogue of Maps made up to 1800. 5 volumes in 6 books. Helsinki: Helsinki University Library.
As the title indicates, an annotated catalog of the collection of the explorer and collector A.E. Nordenskiöld.Mollat du Jourdin, Michel, and Monique de la Ronciere. 1984. Sea Charts of the Early Explorers. Translated from the French by L. le R. Dethan. New York: Thames and Hudson.
An excellent source for early seacharts, with good illustrations.
Norwich, Oscar I. (edited by Jeffery Stone). Norwich’s Maps of Africa. Norwich, Vt.: Terra Nova Press, 1997.
This is a widely consulted reference for the mapping of Africa, particularly those post-1700 and the mapping of southern Africa. It is important to note that this is not a cartobibliography, but is primarily a description of the maps in the African map collection of the South African, Dr. Oscar Norwich. The collection is now at Stanford University in California.
Pastoureau, Mireille 1984. Les Atlas Français XVIe-XVIIe Siècles. Paris: Bibliotheque Nationale.
Still the most consulted resource for maps produced by the French in atlases of the 1500s and 1600s.
Randles, W.G.L. 1956. Southeast Africa as Shown on Selected Printed Maps of the Sixteenth Century. Imago Mundi 13: 69-88.
—- , 1958. Southeast Africa and the Empire of Monomotapa as Shown on Selected Printed Maps of the 16th Century . Lisbon: Centro de Estudoas Historicos Ultramarinos.
—- , 1979. The Empire of Monomotapa from the Fifteenth to the Nineteenth Centuries. Salisbury (Harare): Mambo Press.
—- , 1988. Bartolomeu Dias and the Discovery of the South-East Passage Linking the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. RUC, Coimbra BGUC: 24: 19-28
—- , 1993. The Alleged Nautical School Founded in the Fifteenth Century at Sagres by Prince Henry of Portugal, Called the ‘Navigator’. Imago Mundi 45: 20-28.
Randles was a leading authority on the mapping of southern Africa.
Relaño, Francesc. 2002. The Shaping of Africa: Cosmographic Discourse and Cartographic Science in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe. Aldershot, England: Ashgate Publishing Company.
An excellent resource that provides the theoretical underpinning for the European image of Africa.Sabin, Joseph. 1998. Bibliotheca Americana. Dictionary of Books Relating to America from its Discovery to the Present Time. New York: 2 vols. Mansfield Centre, CT: Maurizio Martino (reprint from 1868).
Though this reference deals with America, it can help identify the various editions of books and atlases that may contain maps of Africa.Schilder, Günter. 1990. Monumenta Cartographica Neerlandica, Volume III (covering the two states of the Blaeu world map, 1619 & 1645-6). Alphen aan den Rijn: Canaletto.
—- , 1993. Monumenta Cartographica Neerlandica, IV: Single sheet maps and topographical prints published by Willem Jansz. Blaeu. Alphen aan den Rijn: Canaletto.
—- , 1996. Monumenta Cartographica Neerlandica, V: Ten Wall Maps by Blaeu and Visscher. Alphen aan den Rijn: Canaletto.
—- , 2000. Monumenta Cartographica Neerlandica, VI: Dutch folio-sized single sheet maps with decorative borders. Alphen aan den Rijn: Canaletto.
—- , 2003. Monumenta Cartographica Neerlandica, VII: Cornelis Claesz (c.1551-1609) Stimulator and Driving Force of Dutch Cartography. Alphen aan den Rijn: Canaletto.
—- , 2007. Monumenta Cartographica Neerlandica, VIII: Jodocus Hondius (1563-1612) and Petrus Kaerius (1571- c.1646). Alphen aan den Rijn: Canaletto.
These are excellent, highly detailed resources for Dutch maps and mapmakers. Besides providing background on the history and cultural context of the times, the series provides highly detailed information on individual maps and their various states.
Shirley, Rodney. 1993. The Mapping of the World: Early Printed World Maps 1472-1700. London: New Holland Publishers Ltd.
—- , 2004. Maps in the Atlases of The British Library: a descriptive catalogue c. AD 850 - 1800. London: The British Library.
Like the Burden books, this reference can help identify the various editions of books and atlases that may contain maps of Africa. The second book is a detailed listing of the individual maps contained in the atlases of The British Library.
Stone, Jeffrey C. 1995. A Short History of the Cartography of Africa. African Studies, vol. 39. Lewiston, N.Y.: The Edwin Mellon Press.
A good overview of the history of cartography of Africa.
Tiele, P.A., and Frederik Muller. 1867. Mémoire bibliographique sur les journaux des navigateurs néerlandais. Réimprimés dans les collections de Bry et de Hulsius, et dans les collections hollandaises du XVIIe siècle, et sur les anciennes éditions hollandaises des journaux de navigateurs étrangers; la plupart en la possession de Frederik Muller à Amsterdam. Amsterdam: Nico Israel, 1969. (reprint from 1867).
This reference contains detailed information on the books that were published to describe the Dutch voyages of exploration.
Tooley, Ronald V. 1939. Maps in Italian Atlases of the Sixteenth Century. Imago Mundi 3: 12-47.
—- , 1966. The Printed Maps of the Continent of Africa and Regional Maps South of the Tropic of Cancer, 1500-1600, Part I and II. London: Map Collectors’ Circle (Map Collectors’ Series no. 29 & 30).
—- , 1968. Maps of Africa: A Selection of Printed Maps from the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Century, Part I and II. London: Map Collectors’ Circle (Map Collectors’ Series no. 47 & 48).
—- , 1969. Collectors’ Guide to Maps of the African Continent and Southern Africa. London: Carta Press.
—- , 1972. A Sequence of Maps of Africa. London: Map Collectors’ Circle (Map Collectors’ Series no. 82).
The individual Map Collectors’ Circle journals provide detailed information on maps of Africa and southern Africa. Tooley’s 1969 book contains information on numerous maps of Africa, grouped by mapmaker; with illustrations.
Winius, George D., and Bailey W. Diffie. 1977. Foundations of the Portuguese Empire 1415-1580. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Woodward, David and Lewis, G. Malcolm, ed. 1998. The History of Cartography, Volume 2, Book 3: Cartography in the Traditional African, American, Arctic, Australian, and Pacific Societies. Chicago-London: University of Chicago Press.
Like the earlier Harley and Woodward books, this is a solid, in-depth history of cartography with coverage of Africa,
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