American Manuscript Maps in British Repositories : Part 2 : The Colonial Era :1585 - 1893.

            The American manuscript maps and plans held by The National Archives in England have immense historical value both as cartographic archives in their own right, and as a record of the events and places to which they relate. The Crown commissioned much of the mapping that was carried out during the period from circa 1585 until 1759. The colonial administrations and the war office generated most of the activity. After the American Revolution, map collections became better organized and most made their way to The National Archives. The catalogue entry in the printed Guide that accompanies the microfilm includes the provenance for each map, and many have been given a Map Room reference in addition to their original designation.            

            Selected from the vast collection in The National Archives, three criteria were applied in their selection: maps of North America and the West Indies as a whole, special areas, or political jurisdictions within these regions; maps dated between 1585 and 1759 with the exception of later copies of earlier maps; and manuscript maps or printed maps with significant manuscript additions. The maps represent the purpose for which they were designed to serve and, therefore, vary greatly. There are general small scale maps of large areas; maps of river systems, bays, islands, coast lines, and harbours; Indigenous lands; settlement areas; towns and townships; land grants; military fortifications; whole colonies; and many more. Cartography and cartographers are the main subjects.

All items are listed in: Penfold, Peter A., ed., Maps and Plans in the Public Record Office. Volume 2.America and West Indies. HMSO, 1974. The full entry in this bibliography, for selections chosen for these microfilmed, has been reproduced in the contents list that accompanies the microfilm, and the maps have been microfilmed in the same geographical order as they appear in the printed guide. Maps and plans from collections consisting entirely of maps were examined throughout for American material.  These consist of the maps and plans in the Colonial Office (CO 700), Foreign Office (FO 925), Ordnance Survey (OS 5), State Paper Office (SP 112), Treasury (T 62 and 63), and the War Office (WO 78).

Arrangement:

Reel 1 - North America:  Canada

North America; Canada; Canada: Bays, Gulfs and Straits; Newfoundland; Nova Scotia; Ontario; Prince Edward Island: Quebec

Reel 2 - United States

United States; Connecticut; Florida; Georgia; Louisiana; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New York; North Carolina; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; South Carolina; Virginia

Reel 3 - West Indies, Bermuda and Central America

West Indies; Antigua; Bahamas; Barbados; Bermuda; Cuba; Curacao; Guadeloupe; Hispaniola; Jamaica; Martinique; Montserrat; Nevis; St. Christopher; St. Lucia; Turks and Caicos Islands; Virgin Islands; Central America; Honduras; Nicaragua; Panama


            

            A guide is available, listing each of the maps, at the start of the microfilm, in print in The Loyalist Collection red binders, with The Loyalist Collection books under the call no. HIL-MICGDL E208 .G73 (2 volumes), Map listing of West Indies or Caribbean maps is available electronically (see Electronic Finding Aid section).             

See Part 1 of this series at: HIL-MICL FC LPR .G7P8A4M3A4.