Historical Atlases

Today we can walk into any well-stocked bookstore or library and find an array of historical atlases. The first thorough review of the source material, "Historical Atlases" traces how these collections of "maps for history" - maps whose sole purpose was to illustrate some historical moment or scene - came into being. Beginning in the 16th century, and continuing down to the late 19th, Walter Goffart discusses milestones in the origins of historical atlases as well as individual maps illustrating historical events in alternating paired chapters. He focuses on maps depicting the mediaeval period because the development of maps for history hinged particularly on the postclassical, "modern" past. Goffart concludes the book with a detailed catalogue of more than 700 historical maps and atlases produced from 1570 to 1870. "Historical Atlases" should soon take its place as a valuable reference on its subject. Historians of cartography, mediaevalists, and anyone seriously interested in the role of maps in portraying history should find it useful.