Title: Golda Meir Library, Office for Map History Records
Inclusive Dates: 1986-1992

Creator:

• Golda Meir Library. Office for Map History

Call Number: UWM Archival Collection 95

Quantity: .2 cubic ft. (1 box)
Repository:

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives Department

Archival Location:

UW-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives / Milwaukee Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

The collection contains records relating to the Office for Map History, a unit of the Golda Meir Library. There are a few records relating to the administration of the office, but the majority of the records relate to the mounting of the major exhibition Maps and the Columbian Encounter. The exhibition ran from 1989 to 1992 and displayed a number of original 13th-17th century maps in order to demonstrate the use of maps as instruments of discovery, power, and cultural dominance.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: https://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-mil-uwmac0095

In 1986, J. Brian Harley of UWM's Department of Geography proposed the establishment of a "Center for American Cartography." The center would complement the American Geographical Society Library (AGSL), a unit of the Golda Meir Library, by providing a focus for geographical and historical research and allowing the solicitation of federal and private funds for a number of different cartographical activities. It would be an interdisciplinary center for advanced research on the role of maps and mapping throughout history. Harley believed that the Center should stress four aspects of American cartography:

• Historical aspects of American cartography and its European antecedents down to the present.
• The multi-disciplinary nature of research and teaching in the field.
• The social history of map use and relevance of maps in contemporary society.
• Research in historical cartography, including the compilation of historical atlases.

Sometime between 1986 and 1987, the name of the proposed institution was changed to the Office for Map History, to reflect the AGSL's primary purpose as a repository of historical maps. It was officially established in 1987 with support from the Golda Meir Library and the College of Letters and Science. As stated in a 1990 planning document, the Office's "specific mission [was] to exploit the resources of the American Geographical Society Collection with which it is affiliated. In particular it [was] charged with raising grants from external sources to support interdisciplinary research, educational programs, and scholarly publications." J. Brian Harley was appointed as the office's director.

During its short life, the office's largest project was the mounting of Maps and the Columbian Encounter, an exhibition of 50 original maps from the AGSL, the Newberry Library in Chicago, the James Ford Bell Library at the University of Minnesota, and the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. The exhibition, mounted to coincide with the 500-year anniversary of the discovery of America by Europeans, was designed to reinterpret this encounter between two worlds with new understandings of the ways in which maps of the time manifested people's perceptions, beliefs, and social institutions.

The exhibition was a great success, and the office created a facsimile exhibition that traveled to different cities and institutions. J. Brian Harley died unexpectedly in late 1991, and the functions of the office were temporarily assigned to Dr. Roman Drazniowsky, curator of the AGSL. The Office for Map History was dissolved in 1993.

The collection contains records of the Golda Meir Library's Office for Map History. The records date from 1986 to1992, though the bulk date from 1987 to1990. Records largely involve the office's involvement with producing Maps and the Columbian Encounter, a large-scale exhibition of original maps from UWM's American Geographical Society Library and several other institutions, that was designed to coincide with the quincentenary of the European discovery of the New World.

One folder contains records from 1986 to 1987 and documents, to a small degree, the foundation of the Office for Map History.

The files are organized alphabetically by subject.

Citation Guide for Primary Sources

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law.

Use Restrictions

The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

Acquisition Information

This collection was transferred to the Archives by unknown parties in 1995 (accession 1994-025).

Processing Information

Jeremy Brett processed the collection in October 2006.

Box   1 Folder   1	Current and Future Projects, 1989-1992
Box   1 Folder   2	Establishment of Office for Map History Documents, 1986-1987
Box   1 Folder   3	History of Cartography Project, 1987
Box   1 Folder   4	Maps and the Columbian Encounter Exhibition/Budget Documents, 1989
Box   1 Folder   5	Maps and the Columbian Encounter Exhibition/Grant Application Narrative, 1988?
Box   1 Folder   6	Maps and the Columbian Encounter Exhibition/Inter-Institutional Planning Committee, 1987
Box   1 Folder   7	Maps and the Columbian Encounter Exhibition/Performance Reports, 1989-1992
Box   1 Folder   8	Maps and the Columbian Encounter Exhibition/Work Plan, 1988?
Box   1 Folder   9	Office for Map History Planning Document, 1990