The Harvard Map Collection is committed to stewarding our unparalleled physical map collection and supporting researchers in the creation and curation of digital geospatial data.
With expertise in cartographic research methods, geographic information systems (GIS), and advanced research and methodological guidance, we help researchers make the most of our world-class paper and digital collections.
The Map Collection began in 1818 with the gift of Hamburg professor Christoph Ebeling’s remarkable collection of maps and books on North America. Our holdings now include over 500,000 flat paper maps and an additional 800,000 maps in bound volumes. Our collection highlights include 17th-century nautical charts, early zoning plans for American cities, a terrestrial and celestial pair of globes by Gerhard Mercator, a veteran's map of Iwo Jima, and pioneering aerial imagery from Harvard in the 1930s.
Whether you're analyzing the spatial dimensions of health, investigating demographic shifts, or tracing changing historic borders, we offer the tools, expertise, and resources to support your research. Through expert guidance and comprehensive collections, we help researchers foster critical thinking about place.
Read more about our story and our collections in our bicentennial exhibition catalog.
Map Collection Staff
- Bonnie Burns, Head of Geospatial Resources
- Belle Lipton, GIS Outreach Librarian
- Jonathan Rosenwasser, Cartographic Reference Assistant
- Molly Taylor-Poleskey, Map Librarian
