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Cartographic Materials
in the Special Collections Department

The University Library's primary collection of cartographic materials is located in the Map Section. In addition, the Special Collections Department houses selected cartographic materials in both sheet map and atlas format. Nearly all of these are printed rather than manuscript items and were published prior to 1900. The collections focus on four geographic areas: 1) Chicago, 2) Illinois, 3) the Great Lakes, and 4) Eastern Europe and the Russian Empire. This guide provides information on the scope of these collections and access to these materials.

User Access:	The Special Collections Department, 3rd floor south, Main Library, is open 10:00 a.m.- 4:40 p.m., Monday - Friday. Cartographic materials are retrieved by Department staff and must be used in the Department reading room under the supervision of Department staff.
Catalog Access:	Most of these maps are not included in UICCAT, the University Library's online catalog. See the sections on "Access" below for assistance in identifying these maps.

Chicago

Scope:	The "Lawrence J. Gutter Collection of Chicagoana" includes selected maps of the city of Chicago, the state of Illinois, and adjacent areas. Most date from the nineteenth century with a few Chicago items from the early twentieth century. This collection is supplemented by both original and facsimile nineteenth- and twentieth-century Chicago cartographic materials available elsewhere in the Library. Consult the Map Librarian for assistance in locating these items.
Access:	Shelf list records for the items in the "Gutter Collection" may be consulted in both the Special Collections Department and the Map Section. Access to other items is provided by: --the Special Collections Department's Antiquarian Map Catalog (nineteenth-century sheet maps), --the Map Section's Card Catalog (nineteenth- and twentieth-century sheet maps), --UICCAT, the online catalog (nineteenth- and twentieth-century atlases and selected maps), and --the Map Librarian (referrals to other appropriate Main Library resources).

Illinois

Scope:	In addition to the Illinois materials mentioned in "Chicago," there is a small collection of nineteenth-century maps of Illinois. These are small-scale maps that portray the state on one sheet.
Access:	GEOGRAPHIC AREA, SUBJECT, AUTHOR, and TITLE access is provided by: --the Special Collections Department's Antiquarian Map Catalog, and --the Map Section's Card Catalog

Great Lakes

Scope:	The maps in this collection depict the Great Lakes Region during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In addition to providing information about this region, these maps may be studied as examples of the work of the notable European cartographers of the period. Most maps cover the entire region or a portion of the region on one sheet. This collection is supplemented by facsimile maps of the region that are available in the Map Section.
Access:	GEOGRAPHIC AREA , SUBJECT, AUTHOR, and TITLE access is provided by: --the Special Collections Department's Antiquarian Map Catalog, and --the Map Section's Card Catalog

Eastern Europe and the Russian Empire

Scope:	The geographic focus of this collection is continental Europe, between the Rhine River and the Ural Mountains (east-west) and the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea (north-south), with limited coverage of the adjacent areas. They range in date from the late sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries. The maps are small-scale with either the region or a state, e.g., Bohemia, generally on one sheet. While of general historical interest, the scale of these maps does not provide the level of detail needed for genealogical research. Patrons who are engaged in this type of research should consult the Map Librarian for assistance. Undergraduates and others seeking general historical information, but who are not required to use primary source material, should also consult the Map Librarian for assistance.
Access:	Maps of the following areas have been cataloged and may be accessed by GEOGRAPHIC AREA, SUBJECT, AUTHOR, and TITLE in both the Special Collections Department's Antiquarian Map Catalog and the Map Section's Card Catalog: 1) Central Europe, e.g., Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria and Hungary; and 2) Eastern Europe, e.g., Romania, Russia, and the Black and Caspian Seas and vicinity
	Uncataloged portions of this collection depict the following general areas: 1) Poland, and 2) Russia. Patrons interested in these materials should consult the Map Librarian for assistance.

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Last updated: Saturday, 06-Mar-2004 12:55:07 CST

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