Discovering the Bartholomew Archive
A new website offers an introduction to nearly 180 years of Bartholomew mapmaking and printing.
The Bartholomew Archive is the fascinating and extensive record of the Edinburgh firm of map engravers, publishers and printers. Started as a family firm in the 1820s, Bartholomew became internationally renowned, producing everything from charts for explorers to school atlases and globes.
As well as background to the family and firm, our web feature provides:
- An overview of archive contents and access, including inventories and summaries.
- Highlights
of discoveries made during the process of cataloguing the
collection, such as:
- The naming of Antarctica
- Tickets for William Gladstone's Midlothian campaign in the 1880 Election
- Innovations in Ordnance Survey half-inch mapping
- The Bartholomew blog, updated by curators.
The Bartholomew Archive has been growing at the National Library of Scotland for many years, and we are still receiving material. In a three-year project funded by the John R Murray Charitable Trust, we are cataloguing and preserving the firm's Printing Record. This project is due to end in 2010 and will result in a fully searchable database.
20 January 2009