Editing David Rumsey Historical Map Collection

{{short description|One of the world's largest private map collections}}
{{Infobox collection
| name          = David Rumsey Historical<br> Map Collection
| image         = Plano topografico ciudad buenos aires 1895.jpg 
| image_caption = 1895 map of Buenos Aires,<br> part of the collection 
| housed_at     = [[Stanford University]]
| curators      = 
| size          = 
| funded_by     = [[David Rumsey]]
| website       = {{url|https://www.davidrumsey.com/|davidrumsey.com}}
}}
The '''David Rumsey Historical Map Collection''' is a large private [[map collection]] with over 150,000 [[map]]s and [[cartography|cartographic]] items. The collection was created by [[David Rumsey]] who, after making his fortune in [[real estate]], focused initially on collecting 18th- and 19th century maps of [[North America|North]] and [[South America]], as this era "saw the rise of modern cartography."<ref>{{cite news| url=http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/09/27/DDG6K8UNN81.DTL | work=The San Francisco Chronicle | title=David Rumsey made a living in real estate. Then he charted his future to match his passion: maps | first=Jane | last=Ganahl | date=27 September 2004}}</ref>

After 2004 Rumsey expanded the collection to include maps from the 16th through 21st centuries, covering more of the world. In 2008 the collection's website was cited as one of only seven websites with freely available "skillfully compiled carto-bibliographic entries with corresponding early-map images."<ref name=Kovarsky>Joel Kovarsky (2008), "Carto-Bibliography on the Web: Links Combining Text and Image", ''Imago Mundi'', vol. 60, no.1, pp. 93–96. {{JSTOR|40234119}}.</ref> At that time the site comprised 16,000 digital images.<ref name=Kovarsky/>

In February 2009, David Rumsey announced that the entire collection would be donated to [[Stanford University]], including 150,000 maps and their [[digital images]], as well as the database used to track the images.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2009/february4/oldmaps-020409.html|title=Maps of Americas past|access-date=7 May 2009 |work=Stanford News Service |publisher=[[Stanford University]] |date=4 February 2009}}</ref> Stanford houses the collection in the new David Rumsey Map Center which opened in the main library in 2016. The website (where the images are posted on-line) was to continue as a separate public resource.

As of February 2022, there were over 114,000 [[digitized]] items available through the website,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.davidrumsey.com/ |title=Home |website=davidrumsey.com}}</ref> hundreds of which were hosted through [[Google Earth]] layers. Select maps are also featured at the Rumsey Maps island in [[Second life|Second Life.]] as well as 2D and 3D GIS. A new MapRank search tool has been added enabling geographical searching of about 60,000 maps from the collection by map location and coverage. In addition, a [[georeferencing]] tool has been added that allows site users to georeference and display any of the maps in the collection. The website has additional viewers from Luna Imaging, Inc, including the LUNA browser which doesn’t require any special plug-ins or software to view the collection, zoom into image detail, create slide shows, media groups, or presentations.

The website also has a blog listing new additions to the collection, featured maps, news, videos, and related sites.

When a document is found on the website, it is usually accompanied by extensive [[metadata]], such as author, date of publication, [[Short-title catalogue|short title]], type, dimensions, note(s), area, full title of the document, full title of the publication it may be part of with notes and download options.<ref>E.g.: [https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~338077~90106055:Caarte-Vande-Reede-ende-Haven-van-M?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:blaeu;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=6&trs=1936 ''Caarte Vande Reede ende Haven van Medenblick, hoemen die ...''] by [[Joan Blaeu|Willem Jansz. Blaeu]] from 1620</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons cat}}
* {{official website}}
*O'reilly Network: [https://web.archive.org/web/20050605003522/http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2005/06/02/davidrumsey.html Historical Maps Online] by David Rumsey 2005
*Wired.com: [https://www.wired.com/2002/03/this-is-a-real-quest-for-maps/ This Is a Real Quest for Maps]
*Technology Review: [http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/20357/?a=f Historical Maps in Second Life]
*PBS Newshour: [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/paper-maps-vs-digital-maps/ New Digital Maps vs Old Paper Maps video]
*Harper's Magazine, September, 2012: [http://rumsey3.s3.amazonaws.com/images/harpers/HarpersJelly-Shapiro.pdf "All Over the Map: A Revolution in Cartography"]
* 2011 [[Digital Humanities conference]], [http://www.davidrumsey.com/blog/2011/7/11/reading-historical-maps-digitally-how-spatial-technologies-can-enable-close-distant-and-dynamic-interpretations keynote address]

[[Category:Map collections]]
[[Category:Historical geographic information systems]]
[[Category:Discipline-oriented digital libraries]]
[[Category:American digital libraries]]
[[Category:Map websites]]