LibGuides: U.S. History: Images &amp; Maps

Recommended Map Databases

African American Studies Center This link opens in a new window
Center notes over 1,000 images, over 100 maps, over 200 charts and tables digitally available
Updated regularly. A comprehensive collection of scholarship focused on the lives and events which have shaped African American and African history and culture, coupled with sophisticated technology permitting precise search and browse capabilities. Features over 7,500 articles from Oxford's authoritative reference works, approximately 100 primary sources with specially written commentaries, over 1,000 images, over 100 maps, over 200 charts and tables, timelines to guide researchers through the history of African Americans and over 6,000 biographies.
Some of the titles included in this access are:
- African American Artists before the Twentieth Century
- African American National Biography
- Africana
- Black Women in America, Second Edition
- Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature
- Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895
- Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present
American West This link opens in a new window
1722 - 1939. Unlimited users. Provides access to source materials on the development of the American West. Contains a wide range of documents, including original manuscripts, ephemeral material (trade cards, wanted posters, photos, claim certificates, news-sheets etc), maps, and rare printed works.
Provide access to source materials on the development of the American West. Contains a wide range of documents, including original manuscripts, ephemeral material (trade cards, wanted posters, photos, claim certificates, news-sheets etc), maps, and rare printed works. Topics covered include Native Americans, pioneers and homesteaders, mining, the Mormon Exodus, transportation, outlaws, the environment, and border issues.
Digitized content selected from The Graff Collection of Western Americana at The Newberry Library in Chicago.
Access to this resource is funded by the Emily Knauss Library Endowment for the Liberal Arts.
Search across Adam Matthew primary source databases using AM Explorer
Digital Sanborn Maps 1867-1970 This link opens in a new window
1867 - 1970. Unlimited users. A collection of large-scale, detailed maps from 1867-1970 depicting the commercial, industrial, and residential sections of more than 12,000 U.S. towns and cities. The available states on our site are: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
A collection of large-scale, detailed maps from 1867-1970 depicting the commercial, industrial, and residential sections of more than 12,000 U.S. towns and cities.
The available states on our site are: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
Access to this resource is funded by the Littlefield Fund for Southern History.
GeoRef This link opens in a new window
1785 - present. Unlimited users. Covers the geology of North America from 1785 to the present. Contains references to geoscience journal articles, books, maps, conference papers, reports and theses.
Updated bi-monthly. Covers the geology of North America from 1785 to the present, and the geology of the rest of the world from 1933 to the present. Contains references to geoscience journal articles, books, maps, conference papers, reports and theses. Includes references to all publications of the U.S. Geological Survey. Masters' theses and doctoral dissertations from U.S. and Canadian universities are also covered.
Nineteenth (19th) Century Collections Online This link opens in a new window
1801 - 1900. Unlimited users. It consists of monographs, newspapers, pamphlets, manuscripts, ephemera, maps, photographs, statistics, and other kinds of documents in both Western and non-Western languages.
A multi-year global digitization and publishing program focusing on primary source collections of the nineteenth century. The content is sourced from the world's preeminent libraries and archives. It consists of monographs, newspapers, pamphlets, manuscripts, ephemera, maps, photographs, statistics, and other kinds of documents in both Western and non-Western languages.
Access to this resource is partially funded by the Emily Knauss Library Endowment for the Liberal Arts.
Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
1790 - present. Unlimited users. Provides easy access to historical census data for the United States. Allows users to visually analyze and understand the demography of any part of the United States including access to interactive thematic maps of historical census data
Updated regularly. Provides easy access to historical census data for the United States. Allows users to visually analyze and understand the demography of any part of the United States with access to the following:
- Interactive thematic maps of historical census data
- Customized reports for any chosen area or areas (including aggregates)
- Complete coverage of the United States, down to neighborhoods and streets
- Simple navigation buttons and a find tool make it easy and efficient to study neighborhoods
Users can examine geographic areas while selecting the type of data to be shown, such as population density or income level. The corresponding data tables are also available.
Texas Historic Sites Atlas This link opens in a new window
Features nearly 300,000 site records, including data on Official Texas Historical Markers and National Register of Historic Places properties in Texas. Get instant access to detailed textual descriptions, historic photographs, and interactive maps to help you discover what makes Texas and your areas of interest unique.
Updated regularly. Features nearly 300,000 site records, including data on Official Texas Historical Markers and National Register of Historic Places properties in Texas. Also included are courthouses, museums, and sawmills across the state. You can search by Historic Designation, Keyword, County, Address, or Site Name to get instant access to detailed textual descriptions, historic photographs, and interactive maps to help you discover what makes Texas and your areas of interest unique.

Recommended Databases for Images

Ad*Access This link opens in a new window
Presents images and database information for over 7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955. Concentrates on five main subject areas: Radio, Television, Transportation, Beauty and Hygiene, and World War II, providing a coherent view of a number of major campaigns and companies through images.
Presents images and database information for over 7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955. Funded by the Duke Endowment "Library 2000" Fund.
Concentrates on five main subject areas: Radio, Television, Transportation, Beauty and Hygiene, and World War II, providing a coherent view of a number of major campaigns and companies through images preserved in one particular advertising collection available at Duke University.
ARTstor This link opens in a new window
Comprised of over 2.5 million digital images of visual material encompassing artistic and historical traditions across many time periods and cultures. Focuses on, but is not limited to, the arts. Includes architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, and design as well as many other forms of visual culture.
Updated regularly. Comprised of over 2.5 million digital images of visual material encompassing artistic and historical traditions across many time periods and cultures. Focuses on, but is not limited to, the arts. Includes architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, and design as well as many other forms of visual culture. Designed to be used by researchers in fields that do not traditionally use images as well as by art historians.
In order to take advantage of all the features of the site, you must register or log in with the service. The registration and login links are visible once you enter the database.
Emergence of Advertising in America: 1850-1920 This link opens in a new window
1850 - 1920. Unlimited users. Presents over 9,000 images, with database information, relating to the early history of advertising in the United States.
Presents over 9,000 images, with database information, relating to the early history of advertising in the United States. The materials, drawn from the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library at Duke University, provide a significant perspective on the early evolution of this most ubiquitous feature of modern American business and culture.
Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey This link opens in a new window
1933 - present. Unlimited users. The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) collections are among the largest and most heavily used in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress. The collections document achievements in architecture, engineering, and landscape design in the United States and its territories through a comprehensive range of building types, engineering technologies, and landscapes.
Updated regularly. The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) collections are among the largest and most heavily used in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress. Since 2000, documentation from the Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) has been added to the holdings. The collections document achievements in architecture, engineering, and landscape design in the United States and its territories through a comprehensive range of building types, engineering technologies, and landscapes. This online presentation of the HABS/HAER/HALS collections includes digitized images of measured drawings, black-and-white photographs, color transparencies, photo captions, written history pages, and supplemental materials.
Images of the American Civil War This link opens in a new window
Presents 50,000 contemporaneous photographs, including nearly 30,000 wartime recruiting posters, envelopes, and ephemera.
Updated quarterly (until completed). Presents 50,000 contemporaneous photographs, including nearly 30,000 wartime recruiting posters, envelopes, and ephemera. Find and view images covering casualties, home life, prisons, hospitals, weaponry, transportation, political and military leaders, and more. Search for images associated with a particular battle or campaign; find images by place, photographer, or publisher; or locate pictures by setting (interior, exterior, or studio photographs). Additional material continues to be added to the collection.
Access to this resource is funded by the Littlefield Fund for Southern History.
LANTERN SLIDES OF THE NIPPON RIKKOKAI: Japanese Immigrants to Americas (力行会海外日本人移民関係幻燈資料) This link opens in a new window
19th - 20th century. Unlimited users. The main images of the 179 lantern slides at this site are lives of those immigrants to Americas, mainly to Brazil, in late 19th and early 20th century.
The collection features 179 black/white and hand-colored images of the lantern slides, which were created and provided by the Nippon Rikkokai Foundation 日本力行会. The main images of the lantern slides at this site are lives of those immigrants to Americas, mainly to Brazil, in late 19th and early 20th century.

Look Collection
With Look Magazine's coverage of U.S. and international lifestyles, celebrities, and events, the collection offers insight into the magazine's photojournalistic documentation of aspects of society and culture--particularly American society and culture--in the middle decades of the twentieth century.

National Geographic Magazine Archive, 1888-2020 This link opens in a new window
1888 - 1994. Unlimited users. Browse by issue or search for articles and images.
Provides access to all issues of the National Geographic magazine from the first issue in 1888 to December 1994. Browse by issue or search for articles and images.
As the official journal of the nonprofit National Geographic Society, National Geographic magazine built its reputation delivering the highest-quality photojournalism and cartography in the world. As generations of researchers and fans will attest, the iconic monthly publication provides unparalleled, in-depth coverage of cultures, nature, science, technology and more.
North American Indian Thought and Culture This link opens in a new window
1677 - present. Unlimited users. A collection of biographical material of American Indians and Canadian First Peoples in their own words and through the words of others. The collection includes at least 20,000 photographs from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Edward Curtis, and many rare collections.
A collection of biographical material of American Indians and Canadian First Peoples in their own words and through the words of others. Includes biographies, autobiographies, personal narratives, speeches, diaries, letters, oral histories, reference works, manuscripts, photographs and audio files.Sources include rare books and biographies from more than 100 Indian publications, such as The Arrow, the Cherokee Phoenix, and the Chickasaw Intelligencer. The collection includes 2,000 oral histories presented in audio and transcript form and at least 20,000 photographs from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Edward Curtis, and many rare collections.
Runyon Photograph Collection This link opens in a new window
This collection of over 8,000 items is a unique visual resource documenting the Lower Rio Grande Valley during the early 1900s. It includes glass negatives, lantern slides, nitrate negatives, prints, and postcards, representing the life's work of commercial photographer Robert Runyon (1881-1968), a longtime resident of South Texas. His photographs document the history and development of South Texas and the border, including the Mexican Revolution, the U.S. military presence at Ft. Brown and along the border prior to and during World War I, and the growth and development of the Rio Grande Valley.
Provides access to digitized photographs from the Robert Runyon Photograph Collection of the South Texas Border Area. This collection of over 8,000 items is a unique visual resource documenting the Lower Rio Grande Valley during the early 1900s. Donated by the Runyon family to the Center for American History in 1986, it includes glass negatives, lantern slides, nitrate negatives, prints, and postcards, representing the life's work of commercial photographer Robert Runyon (1881-1968), a longtime resident of South Texas. His photographs document the history and development of South Texas and the border, including the Mexican Revolution, the U.S. military presence at Ft. Brown and along the border prior to and during World War I, and the growth and development of the Rio Grande Valley.
Vogue Archive This link opens in a new window
1892 - present. Unlimited users. Every page, advertisement, cover and fold-out has been included, with rich indexing enabling you to find images by garment type, designer and brand names.
The Vogue Archive contains the entire run of Vogue magazine (US edition), from the first issue in 1892 to the current month, reproduced in high-resolution color page images. Every page, advertisement, cover and fold-out has been included, with rich indexing enabling you to find images by garment type, designer and brand names. The Vogue Archive preserves the work of the world's greatest fashion designers, stylists and photographers and is a unique record of American and international fashion, culture and society from the dawn of the modern era to the present day.
The Vogue Archive also features specialist indexing of full-page images from photo features. This has been newly created by Condé Nast, with expert indexers using controlled lists to apply keywords to each separate image within a document. There are separate designated fields for Fashion Item (e.g. kimono, Breton jacket, scoop neckline), Person Pictured, Company/brand, Designer Name and Material (e.g. chiffon, wool).

PCL Map Collection - Online

Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
Browse the PCL Map Collection online for maps.
Maps from other websites
An extensive list of other map websites.
Library of Congress American Memory Project
Provides free and open access to still and moving images, maps, among other resources that document the American experience.

Open Access Maps

American Panorama - a historical atlas of the United States for the twenty-first century. It combines cutting-edge research with innovative interactive mapping techniques, designed to appeal to anyone with an interest in American history or a love of maps.

American Revolutionary War Era Maps (1750-1800) - a curated digital collection of maps and additional online resources related to the American Revolutionary War era, broadly defined as 1750-1800. Nearly 2,000 maps are currently available in the Portal

Civil War Maps - Approximately 3,000 maps from collections owned by the Library of Congress, the Virginia Historical Society, and the Library of Virginia.

David Rumsey Map Collection - over 55,000 maps and images online. The collection focuses on rare 18th and 19th century North American and South American maps and other cartographic materials.

Old Maps Online - OldMapsOnline Portal is an easy-to-use gateway to historical maps in libraries around the world.

Credit

Thank you to the Hunter College Library U.S. History Guide