Verbiest’s Complete Map of the World Pt II: The Man Behind the Map
Who was Ferdinand Verbiest and why did he create a world map?
What’s In Your Attic 2026
Last month, we hosted a “What’s In Your Attic?” open house-style events where members of our community brought their own paper treasures (letters, journals, photographs, prints, books, and maps) for discussion with Clements Curators and guest Americana collectors. A handful of our guests generously chose to donate materials to the Clements Library at this event, here are a few of those newly donated acquisitions!
Verbiest’s Complete Map of the World Pt I: The Map
This is part one of a two part series. Read part two here. The western hemisphere from the Complete Map of the World (坤輿全圖, Kun yu quan tu) created by Ferdinand Verbiest (Nan Huairen, 南懷仁) for the Kang Xi Emperor of China in 1674. Few folks who know the Clements...
Mapping Michigan
On this day in history, in 1837, Michigan was admitted as the 26th state. A map of Michigan is easily at hand for most people, whether it is on the phone in their pocket or demonstrated by simply holding up their hand! It wasn’t always that simple. The shape of the...
English Piracy on the Spanish Pacific: William Hacke’s South Sea Waggoners and England’s Imperial Ambitions
Guest post by Juliet Wiersema; 2025-2026 Brian Leigh Dunnigan Fellow; [email protected] Frontispiece Orienting map The large manuscript atlas, A Description of all the Ports … in the South Seas of America … is tied to an infamous tale of Pacific piracy. In...
Recently Acquired Atlases
The Maps Division has added three family atlases to the Clements Library holdings. In 19th century America, these atlases were popular with the general public and combined hand-colored maps with descriptive text about geography, history, and culture of the world.
Conservation of “A new map of Texas, Oregon and California”
In this Q&A, Clements Conservator Julie Fremuth and Curator of Maps & Graphics Sierra Laddusaw discuss a significant 1800s map of Texas, Oregon, and California, sharing insights on its historical value and the conservation work that our copy required.
Thomas Gage Descendant Deborah Gage visits Clements Library
The Thomas Gage papers, which have been housed at the Clements Library since William L. Clements himself purchased and donated them in 1937, give unique insight into the Revolutionary War from the British perspective. However, they also greatly inform the reader about everyday life in the colonies prior to the revolution. It is this aspect of the Gage story that Deborah Gage, a descendant of General Gage, focused on during A Conflict of Emotions: Thomas and Margaret Gage and the American Revolution on Wednesday, April 2, 2025.
Commercial Cartography
Buried within a small, leather-bound memorandum book that’s part of the Hudson’s Bay Company materials at the William L. Clements Library lies a two-page map, charted circa 1779 by John Thomas of London, depicting a consequential but nonexistent waterway connecting Lake Superior with Hudson’s Bay. The search for this fictitious waterway led to the aggressive expansion of the HBC. Read on to learn more.