A collection of cartographic books and maps, dating back to the 16th century, is now available online through Nova Scotia Community College’s Centre of Geographic Sciences (NSCC COGS).
The college held an official celebration of the completion of the Walter K. Morrison Digitization Project last week.
Carte de l’Isle Royale (Map of Isles Royale) 1744, Jacques Nicolas Bellin. Published 1756. Source: W. K. Morrison Special Collection, Nova Scotia Community College.
Jason Clark, principal, Annapolis Valley Campus, told the Annapolis County newspaper, “The W. K. Morrison Special Collection includes more than 2,000 historical maps, atlases, periodicals, and books that illustrate the evolution of cartography in Nova Scotia over five centuries. With this move to a digital repository, researchers and the general public will now join the college community in having access to this tremendous resource.”
The map collection was donated in 2000 to NSCC COGS by Walter Morrison, Cartographer Emeritus of COGS who was interested in antique maps as an illustration of the evolution of map making technology. It is a mixed media print collection of historical maps, atlases, periodicals and books.
NSCC president Don Bureaux said, “With the oldest map dating back almost 500 years, we are given a mirror into the past and a better understanding of the pioneers who came before, developing a better understanding of the evolution and importance of map-making.”
In addition to a remarkable collection of early maps of Atlantic Canada, there are maps of New France, British and French settlements in North America, Canada, Hudson Bay, Quebec, Montreal, the US “agreeable to the Peace of 1783,” an 1822 world atlas, England in 1750, Europe, South Africa, and much more.
The W.K. Morrison Special Collection is worth exploring, if just for the beauty of the maps. Use the search box or just browse.
The Annapolis County article is available here.
I am very interested in maps, especially of places where my ancestors once lived and raised their families. I just heard about this blog and since I do research for my family and friends, this will be very useful in my genealogical research of the Acadians of the early 1600’s to the present. Thank you for this. I will visit it very often!