Boeckmann Center Iberian and Latin American map collection
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Scope and Content
The maps in this collection date from 1599 to 2013, with the majority from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Many are rare, scarce or ephemeral. The oldest map, from Basel, 1559, is of the Western Hemisphere by Sebastian Munster. The next oldest is by the notable cartographer Abraham Ortelius, printed in 1579 for his Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. The map, entitled “Culiacana Provincia; Cuba, et Spagniola,” is also the earliest known map of western Mexico, with depictions of Cuba and other Caribbean islands. 21st century maps added to the collection include a 2012 map from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and a 2013 map from Cuba. Types of maps found in this collection include small atlases, thematic, topographic, street and political maps. Some are pictorial, archaeological or designed for tourists. Some of the maps were produced by the United States, Central Intelligence Agency, the American Automobile Association, and the National Geographic Society, as supplements to National Geographic magazine, and by Standard Oil Company and UNESCO. Many of the Latin American country and city maps were published by their national, state or provincial government agencies or by commercial publishers. In Cuba Ediciones GEO is the official mapping company. In Mexico a number of commercial maps are by Guia Roji and Libreria Patria, and others are by INEGI and the National Chamber of Commerce. In Spain, in addition to the government agencies such as TURESPANA and the Instituto Geografico Nacional, companies producing maps found in the collection include Edisa, Banco de Bilbao, Firestone Espana, Almax, Distrimapas-Telstar, and El Corte Ingles. These maps may be used to study local, regional and military history, cultural aspects (language and music), boundary disputes, place name changes, location of archaeological sites or historic buildings, travel and recreation, or to reveal relationships among geographic, economic, social and political factors. When used in combination with other works held in the USC Libraries, such as large atlases, geographic reference books, histories and online sources, these maps may assist in raising new questions, understanding relationships among diverse locations and identifying research priorities.
Dates
- Creation: 1559 - 2013
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1800s-1990s
Languages
Majority of the items are in Spanish, Portuguese and English, but some are in Catalan, Valencian, Italian, French or Latin. Although Spanish and Portuguese are the principal languages of Iberia and Latin America, and most represented in this collection, many other languages may be represented in the collection.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Advance notice required for access.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from maps and atlases must be submitted in writing to the Boeckmann Center Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Extent
9.83 Linear Feet (17 boxes and 2 oversize folders)
Abstract
This collection contains over 200 printed maps and small atlases, from the sixteenth to the twenty-first centuries, relating to the geographic areas of Latin America, including the Caribbean, and Spain and Portugal. Most are not widely held by other libraries, and some are unique to USC.
Organization
The collection is organized into six series. The first includes maps covering the entire region of Latin American or the subregions, such as Middle America, Central American, South America, the Caribbean and the West Indies. The second series includes individual country and/or city maps from Latin American, except for Cuba and Mexico. The third and fourth series include maps of Cuba and Mexico. The fifth series covers the countries and cities of the Iberian Peninsula, Spain and Portugal. The last series includes oversize maps or rolled maps which require special housing.
Acquisition
The majority of the maps in the collection, particularly from the nineteenth through the early twentieth centuries, were donated in 1985 by Mr.and Mrs. Herbert F. Boeckmann as part of their 80,000 volume collection of books, serials and other items for the Boeckmann Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies. A number of maps from Latin America and Spain were donated to the collection by USC alumni L.A. Murillo and Gladys Waddingham, other maps from Spain were received with a book collection from the estate of Robert I. Burns. The maps by Munster and by Ortelius were purchased from rare map dealer and a bookseller specializing in Latin Americana. The collection will be selectively supplemented through gifts and purchases.
General note
This collection was initiated by the Boeckmann Center Librarian in 1985 to improve access to the maps and small atlases in the collection of the Boeckmann Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies. Over the years the map collection has been selectively supplemented with gifts and purchases. The primary criteria for inclusion is that the maps relate to the geographic areas of Latin America, including the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal. Latin America is a term coined in the mid-ninteenth-century for territories in the Western Hemisphere south of the United States border, most of which were part of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires. Other terms which refer to the region include New World, Hispanic America and Brazil, or Ibero-America. Terms which define the subregions include Middle America, Caribbean, West Indies, Central America, and South America. Iberia refers to the countries of Spain and Portugal which occupy the Iberian Peninsula in Western Europe. Luso-Hispanic world is another term used occasionally to describe the global influence of Spain and Portugal in the Americas, Africa and Asia.
- Title
- Boeckmann Center Iberian and Latin American map collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Barbara J. Robinson
- Date
- 2014 June
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2017 July: Revised by Barbara Robinson
- 2021-2023: Finding aid updated by Bo Doub to include material added to the collection from 2019 to 2023.
Repository Details
Part of the USC Libraries Special Collections Repository
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles California 90089-0189 United States
specol@usc.edu