-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        Rare Japanese Maps of the Tokugawa Period are now Digitized
Date:   Tue, 18 Jul 2006 16:45:30 -0700
From:   Ralph Stanton <[log in to unmask]>
To:     [log in to unmask]


 Rare Japanese Maps of the Tokugawa Period are now Digitized

Rare Books and Special Collections and University Archives at UBC
Library is pleased to announce the launch of a newly digitized
collection: Japanese Maps of the Tokugawa Era, at
http://angel.library.ubc.ca/tokugawa/.

UBC Library's Rare Books and Special Collections holds one of the
world's largest collections of maps and guidebooks of the Japanese Edo
period, also called the Tokugawa period, 1603-1867. The collection was
formed after World War II by George H. Beans. Over 300 maps from the
collection have been digitized and are searchable and viewable online.
The digitization process allows the user to see a whole map as well as
offering detailed views of larger or smaller portions of the maps.

The focus of the Beans collection is on privately published and travel
related maps and guides published in Japan. There is world coverage,
although the majority of maps are of the whole or parts of Japan. A
number of prominent Japanese woodblock artists are represented in the
collection.

The digitization of Beans Japanese map collection is a collaborative
project between the UBC Library?s Rare Books and Special Collections and
the University Archives. In the first phase of the project all the
single-sheet maps have been digitized. A second phase will digitize the
maps in atlases. Bronwen Sprout, Digital Initiatives Librarian at the
University Archives, and Katherine Kalsbeek, Reference and Maps
Librarian at Rare Books and Special Collections guided the first phase
of the project to completion. Special thanks to Leslie Field, Archives
Assistant, who provided expert assistance and guidance with the
digitizing work.

The project is funded by the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, and has
also received support from the Department of Asian Studies.

The collection is located at: http://angel.library.ubc.ca/tokugawa/
(click on the "detailed image" link in each record to zoom in on the
images). Please send comments or suggestions to: Bronwen Sprout
[log in to unmask] or Katherine Kalsbeek
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>.

For further information contact Ralph Stanton, Rare Books and Special
Collections Librarian at 604-822-4879.

--
Ralph Stanton
Rare Books and Special Collections Librarian
University of British Columbia Library
Irving K. Barber Learning Centre
1961 East Mall
Vancouver, BC
V6T 1Z1

Telephone: 604-822-4879
Fax: 604-822-9587
Email: [log in to unmask]