Osher Map Library: Library Collections


	The Collections Combined, the Smith, Osher, Enggass, Naden, Fleet Bank, and OML collections contain approximately 20,000 maps, as separate sheets or bound in over 1,500 rare books and atlases. The texts include explorers' narratives, the accounts of early travelers, and works of cosmography, astronomy, navigation, and geography. In addition, there are over 120 globes and about 15 early surveying instruments. The original materials are supplemented by many facsimile editions of both maps and atlases. These valuable study aids are augmented by a growing reference collection of more than 800 volumes of related works, including cartobibliographies, regional histories, dealer and exhibition catalogues, and monographs and journals on the history of cartography. The collections begin with early Western conceptions of the world as a whole and move to a progressively sharper focus on the New World, northern New England, and Maine. Consequently, they illustrate and illuminate the history of Western cartography from its inception to modern times. While the scope of the collections is global, the discovery and exploration of North America are especially well documented in materials published between the early 1500s and the 1800s. There is also a representative collection of 19th- and 20th-century maps and atlases to complement the older materials and to aid in their interpretation.
The Formation of the Cartographic Collections	The Cartographic Collections were formed from two major gifts, the first from the late Lawrence M. C. and Eleanor Houston Smith, and the second from Dr. and Mrs. Harold L. Osher. The late Lawrence M. C. Smith and Eleanor Houston Smith became summer residents of Maine in 1946, when they purchased Wolfe's Neck Farm in Freeport. During the next three decades they acquired maps, globes, and atlases that comprise the Smith Cartographic Collection, materials reflecting their interest in history and geography, and their devotion to the Maine coast. Their commitment and generosity to the state expressed itself in a number of ways. The Smiths gave Mast Landing Sanctuary in Freeport to the Maine Audubon Society and Wolfe Neck Woods to the people of Maine. Their foresight and generosity made possible the acquisition of Popham Beach as a state park. In 1984, Mrs. Smith gave Wolfe's Neck Farm to the University of Southern Maine; in 1986, she donated the cartographic collection that delighted her and her husband for so many years to the University. Their enthusiasm and love for early cartography lives on through their magnificent legacy. Dr. Harold L. Osher and his wife, Peggy L. Osher, are long-time residents of Maine. They live in Portland, where Dr. Osher was the director of cardiology at Maine Medical Center for many years. They began collecting maps in earnest on a visit to London in 1975. Since that time, they have been avid and committed collectors of early cartographic materials. The Oshers have been generous supporters of the medical and cultural communities of Maine throughout their lives. Their long-standing interest in history and early exploration and their deep appreciation of art and culture have made them very discriminating collectors. Constant attention to quality is reflected in the stunning examples of cartography that grace their collection. After conversations with Eleanor Smith, the Oshers donated their collection to the University, along with additional resources for the founding of the map library that bears their name. Subsequent donations to the library have substantially augmented the map library's holdings. Peter M. Enggass, professor emeritus of geography and geology, Mt. Holyoke College, has donated almost a hundred maps of Spain and the Iberian Peninsula, dating between 1486 and 1828; these were the subject of the library's 1998/99 exhibition, Maps of Spain. Mr. Tony Naden, formerly owner of The Map Store, Harvard Square, and currently employed by MapLink, has given over a thousand contemporary maps covering most of the world, together with a sizeable reference collection.
On-Line Catalogue	The primary catalogue for all library materials within the University of Maine System is the web-searchable URSUS catalogue; duplicate records are stored in OCLC. When catalogued in URSUS, with Library of Congress call numbers, all materials in the Osher Map Library are identified as being located at "POR Cartograph Rare" (rare materials) or "POR Cartograph Ref" (reference materials). The older call numbers for each collection -- such as "S-509" for item no.509 in the Smith Collection -- appear in the "notes" section of each URSUS entry. See below for more precise information for accessing each collection.
Smith Collection	Composition The Smith Collection comprises 458 sheet maps, 685 atlases and books, and 62 terrestrial and celestial globes from the 16th through the 20th century. Access Principal access is through James E. Mooney, Maps, Globes, Atlases and Geographies Through the Year 1800: The Eleanor Houston and Lawrence M. C. Smith Cartographic Collection at the Smith Cartographic Center, University of Southern Maine (Freeport, Me.: Privately Printed, 1988). The entire collection is currently being catalogued on URSUS; new records appear on-line as they are created. An in-house, annotated copy of Mooney's cartobibliography serves as a guide to the 36 rolls of microfilm of maps, other graphic images, title pages, tables of contents, and indices from the collection. A copy of the microfilm is also available in the microfilm department of the USM library (Portland campus). One set of the microfilm has been re-organized according to the Library of Congress G-schedule to give access to the collection by geographic area. This set is housed in the Osher Map Library.
Osher Collection	Composition The Osher Collection comprises 900+ sheet maps, 850+ atlases and books, all from the 15th through 20th centuries, 60+ globes from the 18th through 20th centuries, and 14+ surveying instruments from the 18th through the early 20th century. The collection is still growing. Access The collection is currently accessed by a variety of in-house finding aids, with cataloguing planned for the future.
Enggass Collection	The Enggass Collection was donated to the Osher Map Library in 1996 by Dr. Peter M. Enggass, professor emeritus of history at Mt. Holyoke College; Dr. Enggass has since continued to add to this collection. It now comprises over 100 sheet maps of the Iberian Peninsula and Spain, dating from 1468 to 1829. It is accessed by an in-house finding aid.
Fleet Bank Collection	The Fleet Bank Collection was donated to the Osher Map Library in 1996. It comprises 4 nineteenth-century maps of Maine and 4 atlases of Maine, dated between 1882 and 1914: Osgood Carleton, Map of the District of Maine (Boston, 1802). Moses Greenleaf, District of Maine (Portland, 1815). John D. Dean, Map of the State of Maine; Provisional Treaty and Definition Treaty, 1782-1783 (Portland, 1840). Atlas of the City Engineer's Plans for Portland ([Portland, Me.]: W. A. Goodwin, 1882). Map of the State of Maine (Houlton, Me.: Colby and Stuart, 1888-89). Bar Harbor Summer Residents Association, Atlas of Bar Harbor, Maine, and Vicinity (Boston: George H. Walker & Co., 1904). Insurance Maps of Portland, Maine, 2 vols. (New York: Sanborne Fire Insurance Co., 1909, with corrections in 1939, 1949, and 1951). Richards Atlas of the City of Portland, 1914 (Springfield, Mass.: Richards Mgs. Co., 1914).
OML Collections	These comprise 19th- and 20th-century materials that the Osher Map Library has acquired through various gifts. It consists mostly of topographic maps, road maps, and city plans. They are currently accessed through in-house finding aids.
Reference Collection	The reference collection is formed from the Smiths' reference materials plus subsequent acquisitions. It comprises 800+ volumes of texts, facsimiles, atlases, and cartobibliographies. It is completely catalogued on URSUS.