What are the catalogs?
Access to materials related to historical travel begins with our online Research Catalog and our printed Dictionary Catalog of the Map Division (available online at HathiTrust) - in order to see the full scope of our collection.
To learn more in-depth, on how to utilize these catalogs, visit our research guide Navigating Research at the Map Division.
In the meantime, please see below some quick tips and recommendations on how to utilize both of these resources, specifically for research pertaining to historical travels.
Please note that catalog tips that are specific to certain forms of travel will also be listed on the corresponding pages of this research guide.
Online Research Catalog
For research concerning historical travels in the Online Research Catalog, we recommend that you utilize the Advanced Search function, to have a more precise search.
If you are searching for maps specifically, please make sure to indicate the format as "Cartographic."
In addition, please feel free to utilize the Date facet, in order to narrow your search.
Please note that some material listed in these catalogs are not in the Dictionary Catalog, and vice versa.
Here are suggested terms to use as subject or keyword searches in the Online Research Catalog :
| Automobile travel | Ferries | Ocean travel | Railroads [place name] timetables periodicals | Steamboats |
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| Bus lines | Ferry routes | Overland journeys to the Pacific | Railroads, Elevated | Steam-navigation | Voyages and travels | |
| Bus travel | Itineraries |
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Roads | Street-railroads | Wagon trains | |
| Cruise ships | Local transit | Railroad travel | Steamboat lines |
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Women travelers |
For more specific searches, you have the ability to combine several terms into one subject search. As such, below are some recommendations on how you can combine the above terms with subheadings that pertain to historical research.
When utilizing multiple terms in a subject search, please use the Advanced Search function in the Online Research Catalog.
- subheadings Maps or Guidebooks or Description and Travel or Immigrant guides, etc. with the name of places
- subheading Timetables alongside a mode of travel and place name
- subheading Travel (which could be subdivided further by place name) alongside names of individual persons and corporate bodies, classes of persons and ethnic groups
- subheading Anecdotes alongside names of persons, families, classes of persons, ethnic groups;
- subheading Personal narratives alongside names of events and wars.
Dictionary Catalog aka GK Hall
The Dictionary Catalog of the Map Division is digitally available HathiTrust. When searching for material related to historical travel, you will want to search in this catalog by either location, name of author, or specified subjects.
These volumes are arranged alphabetically. For example:
- maps of Alexandria, Virginia will be located in Volume 1 (A-Bor), alphabetically under A.
- maps by the company General Drafting Company will be located in Volume 4 (Fes - Hay), alphabetically under G.
- maps indexed under the subject headings Railways will be located in Volume 8 (Pid - San), alphbetically under R.
Within this alphabetical arrangement, the maps are then arranged by date (from oldest to newest).
Please note that some material listed in these catalogs are not in the Online Research Catalog, and vice versa.
See below for some recommendations on search terms and how to use them:
- Location Search:
- [Name of Location] [Year of Interest]
- The name of the location will determine which volume you choose.
Location Search Example: To find Plymouth County in Massachusetts, you would look under Volume 8 (Pid - San). Looking alphabetically, you will find this record on page 38.
- Author Search:
- [Name of Author/Organization] [Year of Interest]
- The name of the Author/Organization will determine which volume you choose.
- If it is an individual author, you will search via their last name.
- If it is an organization, you will search under the first letter in the organization's name [ignoring articles such as A or The]. For example, The Sanborn Map Company would be indexed under S, not T.
Author Search Example: To find materials created by Rand McNally, a major map publishing company, you would look under Volume 8 (Pid - San). Looking alphabetically, you will find this record on page 395.
- Subject Search:
- The subject will determine which volume you choose. As such, please see below for some examples that are pertinent to historical travels:
Subject Search Example: To find materials related to Airports, you would look under Volume 1 (A - Bor). Looking alphabetically, you will find this record on page 89.
