Tucked away in the stacks and study rooms of The New York Public Library (NYPL), you’ll find much more than books. From a lock of Edgar Allan Poe’s hair and Charles Dickens’ cat-paw letter opener to a collection of personal papers from Dr. Maya Angelou, the Library system is full of fascinating items.
In this online experience, we’ll explore the Library’s collection of rare maps housed inside the iconic Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan! Established in 1898, this collection contains over 433,000 sheet maps and 20,000 books and atlases published between the 16th and 21st centuries. The materials cover all corners of the globe and beyond, from star charts that track celestial bodies to a map of jazz musicians’ homes in Queens, New York.