Address: Kaartenzaal, Heidelberglaan 3, 3584 CS Utrecht
Mailing: P.O. Box 80.124, 3508 TC Utrecht
Opening hours: Monday-Friday 09.00-17.00 h.
Telephone: 030-2534401/2535156
Curator: Dr. M. van Egmond

Homepage Map Collection of the Utrecht University Library

History
The Geographical Institute, and therewith the map-collection, was founded in 1908. The first two professors, J.F. Niermeyer and K. Oestreich, took great care that the collection grew in the fields of statistical and physical geography and maritime cartography. They bought old as well as contemporary maps, sometimes on auctions of e.g. Frederik Muller and Martinus Nijhoff. In later years more attention was given to maps concerning the history of cartography. But the greater bulk of acquisitions consisted of topographic maps, as they formed most times the basis for geographical studies. The collection can be characterized as a general one.
In 1838 the University Library received a legacy of prof. G. Moll (1785-1838), mainly consisting of maritime (a.o. 34 maps of the Mediterranean), military and astronomical maps and townplans, together some 1,500 items, dating from the 17th and 18th century. In 1864 the Widow of prof. J. Ackersdijck (1790-1861) gifted to the same library some 1,650 maps, mainly consisting of printed maps from the 17th and 18th century (mainly maps from atlases) and printed geographical and thematical maps (economical and political- statistical maps and physical maps) from the period 1800-1860. It contains a.o. 45 maps of Spain and Portugal or parts and towns thereof. In 1973 both collection were given into permanent loan to the Geographical Institute, now Faculty of Geographical Sciences. The Geographical Institute has been housed in many building in the Centre of Utrecht, till in 1969 it moved to 'De Uithof', a university centre east of Utrecht.

Since 1996 the map curator upkeeps the Internet homepage Oddens's Bookmarks, the fascinating world of maps and mapping. This is one of the main gateways to the subject.

Contents
Besides the collections 'Moll' and 'Ackersdijck' the collection is enriched by the collections 'Michels' (130 manuscript and printed maps of the author between ca. 1950-1974), 'De Roos' (ca. 3,000 maps of commercial companies -mainly town plans and road-maps- of the 1st half of the 20th century) and 'H.G. de Smit' (10 atlases with ca. 300 maps of the author. However his name is nowhere mentioned on the maps).
Presently the collection numbers some 100,000 maps, 2,000 atlases, 11 globes, 250 wall-maps, 14,000 aerial photographs and 30 relief-models. The maps and atlases are in time divided as follows:

Till 1850: ca. 5,500 map sheets
The collection 'Moll' contains a.o. 6 manuscript maps of 1737 and 1 manuscript map of 1644 of part of the Chinese Sea east of the Philippines with instructions how to intercept the Spanish silver-fleet coming from Acapulco, signed by Abel Tasman.

ca. 75 atlases

1850-1950: ca. 55,000 map-sheets
ca. 400 atlases

1950-present: ca. 35,000 map-sheets
ca. 1,700 atlases

The regional emphasis is on The Netherlands (ca. 15,000 maps), Europe (ca. 41,000 maps), Indonesia (ca. 8,000 maps), United States, and individual or series maps of the other continents or the world (ca. 26,000 maps). Furthermore many facsimiles have been acquired, half of which are concerned with The Netherlands and Belgium.
The collection consists for 70% of topographical and for 30% of thematical maps. The atlases are most times national or regional-thematical atlases, general and school atlases.

Reference books are located in the library (Bibliotheek Centrum Uithof) on the 1st floor of the same building.

Cataloguing
Old maps and atlases have been described and ordered in an area-catalogue on catalogue cards, modern maps and atlases have been described and ordered in an area-catalogue and a thematical catalogue on catalogue cards. Acquisitions from 1983 onwards have been described in an automated system which has been set up by Mr. R. Oddens himself.
Accessions are sorted on year of entry and on this basis published in accession lists. These appear infrequently in small impressions.

Reproduction
Monochrome xerocopies and photographs, and slides can be supplied of both maps and atlas leaves. Orders cannot be accepted by telephone.

Bibliographies
1. Lijst van kaarten in de Ackerdijck-collectie van de Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht / [samengesteld onder redactie van G.G. Schilder]. Utrecht : Geografisch Instituut van de Rijksuniversiteit, 1975. 220 p.
2. Catalogus van de kaartencollectie-Moll / samengesteld door J. Harms [en] M. Donkersloot-de Vrij ; [met een inleiding van A.D.A. Monna]. Utrecht : Universiteitsbibliotheek, 1977. XI, 171 p.
3. Bibliotheekbeschrijving : De kaartenverzameling van het Geografisch Instituut van de Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht / Annemieke van Slobbe. In: Open, jrg. 13, nr. 12, december 1981. Pp 601-609.
4. Collectie H.G. de Smit : schenking van de heer M. de Smit, Den Haag, 1982 / kaartbeschrijving door Marijke Abrahamse. Utrecht : Geografisch Instituut, 1986. 35 p.
5. Maps in the Faculty of Geographical Sciences at the University of Utrecht / Roelof P. Oddens. In: The Map Collector, Summer 1989, p. 28-32.
6. Catalogus van kartografische documenten in de kaartverzameling van de Faculteit der Ruimtelijke Wetenschappen van de Universiteit Utrecht : 1983-1991 / samengesteld door Roelof P. Oddens. -- Utrecht : Faculteit der Ruimtelijke Wetenschappen, 1992. 2 vol. (723 p.).
7. Catalogus van kartografische documenten in de kaartverzameling van de Facult eit der Ruimtelijke Wetenschappen van de Universiteit Utrecht : beschrijvingen januari 1992 - januari 1995 / Ineke J.C. Harms en Roelof P. Oddens. -- Utrecht : Faculteit der Ruimtelijke Wetenschappen, 1995. 498 p.

Atlantes Neerlandici
The numbers relate to the "List of Dutch atlases and (partial) facsimiles thereof", primarily based on C. Koeman's Atlantes Neerlandici.

Atlantes Neerlandici <1880 (Faculty of Geographical Sciences)
001800
003900
004100
004900A1I
005500
005600A1
005700
016800A1I
017000
017000C1IT
017100A1I
018300A1I
018700
018800
019200
019200A1T
019300A1T
024100A1I
027900A1I
028300
028800A1
029300
029500
030400A5
030400A6
032700A1
033700
037700C1I
044300C1
046900
049200
049900
050000
050200
056800
074000
078300A1I
079700
080400
080400A1I
085700A1
089000A1
092300A1
095300A1
097600A1
100700
101800
102200
102500
103200
103300
104300
108700
111400
111800
111900
112000
116700
117900A1I
120000
120100
125600
128500C1I
135100A1I
135100A2IT
136800
139400A1I
145800
146200
148900
152100A1I
152900A1I
156400
157450A1I
157600C1
157700
157700A1
158100
159000
160000
160500
160900
161400
167000A1I
167200A1T
167400A1I
167500A1T
169500A1I
169800A1I
175600A1I
176500
176800A1I

Atlantes Neerlandici 1880-1940
005577
005830
028074
028251
028252
028253
049220
050131
060550
061727
078443
100730
101110
101111
101112
101113
101114
101119
101121
101122
101123
101124
105050
109291
131813
131815
131817
148850
158410
158415
159645
160565

Atlantes Neerlandici <1880 (University Library) [These holdings are derived from Koeman's text and not checked against actual holdings]
002800
003900
005600
005900
006200
010900
011000
013800
015500
016500
017000
018300
018400
019600
019700
020000
020100
020200
020300
021200
021300
021400
021500
022500
022600
025900
027000
032700
032800
049100
056000
056300
061700
063700
074500
080600
106600
109400
112600
114300
114400
119000
121000
125500
126800
128800
129200
133600
134400
144500
147200
156300
157600
172900
175000
176400

Atlantes Neerlandici 1880-1940
002882
004833
004836
005552
005557
005558
005559
028036
028225
028270
028646
028650
028660
028661
028662
028664
028676
028706
028722
028729
028730
028731
028732
028807
028840
028905
028908
029040
029041
029258
029269
029331
030507
031804
032171
033050
041600A1
049220
049232
050131
050170
053010
053041
053044
053047
053049
053072
059550
060550
061716
061742
061765
061790
061791
061793
061797
062007
061010
062014
063640
064151
064152
064320
078443
078622
078624
100480
100554
100730A1
101102
101120
101153
101197
102302
102500
109231
109290
111801
131840
131851
131857
135030
135070
146075
148650
148954
157673
157674
158025
158065
158350
158415
158430
160560
160570
160833
161050
161110
171145
171230
172754
176570
177100
177700