Lloyd Reeds Map Collection
The historical and rare maps in the Lloyd Reeds Map Collection span the years between 1486 and the end of the Cold War in 1990. The oldest map in the collection was published in Johannes Reger's 1486 edition of Ptolemy's Cosmographia. The collection is an indispensible teaching resource providing students with the opportunity to examine cartography as not just a tool for navigation, but as a work of art, an expression of power, a cultural worldview, and a chronicle of scientific advancement. Original maps may be viewed in the Library's Archives and Research Collections Division. High resolution, scanned images of the maps are available to be viewed online and freely downloaded for non-commercial purposes.
Featured Map Collections
WWI Trench Maps & Aerial Photographs
Most of the maps in this collection were produced by the British Ordnance Survey for the Allied forces, although a few German, French and other maps purchased privately by officers exist within the collection. They range in scale from very detailed operations maps used for trench raids to very broad overview maps used to show the entire front. The majority of the collection is made up of 1:10,000 scale trench maps, 1:20,000 scale artillery maps, and 1:40,000 scale officer's planning maps. The bulk of the collection is from the latter part of the war in the years 1917 and 1918 when map production had increased dramatically. Many are of the Canadian sector of the front during the so-called "Last Hundred Days" of the war (August 1918 - November 1918) with some produced by the Canadian Corps topo section.
Aerial photograph coverage is scattered over much of the area of conflict in France and Belgium but there is a high concentration of photography in areas around Ypres, Meteren, Messines, Lille and Wytschaete with some coverage around areas such as Albert, Cambrai, the Hindenburg line, Canal du Nord and Cuinchy brick stacks.
WWII Topographic Map Series
The almost 10,000 topographic maps in this collection were produced by the British War Office, Geographical Section, General Staff (G.S.G.S.) and the U.S. Army Map Service (A.M.S.) during the war years of 1939-1945. They cover most of Europe at multiple scales. Although most do not contain military annotations, they provide a rich topographical database of information which can aid the researcher to comprehend puzzling aspects of terrain or to locate vanished villages, road networks and landmarks. They should be of particular interest to historians and genealogists but can also be used by anyone interested in obtaining a visual accompaniment to related texts, documents and records. They represent a valuable primary source of information which can be utilized to support research with many of McMaster's unique archives such as our Holocaust and Resistance Collection.