From: A CARLUCCI <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Maps in the FCO Historical Collection, Foyle Special Collections Library, King's College London
To: maps-l
Date: Monday, 10 May, 2010, 16:15



** WITH APOLOGIES FOR CROSS-POSTING **



Dear map colleagues



We are writing to let you know of a newly available resource for the study of historical maps.



The Foyle Special Collections Library at King's College London is the home of the historical book collection of the UK ’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which was transferred to King’s on permanent loan in 2007. The FCO Historical Collection includes more than 60,000 volumes of books, journals, pamphlets, etc., which were the working tools of diplomacy and empire for the Foreign Office, and also the Colonial and Dominions Offices. The collection’s geographical scope is vast, and materials date from the 17 th to the early 20 th centuries.



The Discovery and Empire Project, which has been cataloguing the collection since January 2009, has turned up a large selection of travel accounts and memoirs, many of which are illustrated with maps. Included are cartographical works by Arrowsmith, Bellin, Blaeu, Bowen, D’Anville, Faden, Fer, Houdan, Jefferys, Kitchin, Robert de Vaugondy, Senex, Tardieu, and van der Aa.



Important maps and cartographers are noted in the catalogue records for these volumes, which are available via the KCL online catalogue at http://library.kcl.ac.uk/ as well as COPAC ( http://copac.ac.uk/ ). We also hope to add this information to our WorldCat /OCLC records in the near future ( http://www.worldcat.org/ ).



Further details of the FCO Historical Collection are available in the Foyle Special Collections Library’s illustrated publication, "The year in review, 2008-9", which is available in PDF format at http://www.kcl.ac.uk/iss/archivespec/learn-exhib/pub.html . There is also a dedicated brochure on the FCO collection at http://www.kcl.ac.uk/content/1/c6/06/81/32/FCOCollectionleaflet.pdf .



If you would like to receive printed copies of the review or the brochure, or have any other questions about the collection, please contact us at [log in to unmask] .



Please note that the collection at King’s does not include the documents and records generated by FCO staff, nor their photographic collections.



We hope you will find this of interest.



Katie Sambrook, Special Collections Librarian, [log in to unmask] .uk

and

April Carlucci, Discovery and Empire Senior Project Cataloguer, [log in to unmask]

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King's College London
Foyle Special Collections Library
Chancery Lane
London WC2A 1LR UK



Tel. (44)+ (0)20 7848 1845
Fax (44)+ (0)20 7848 1843

www.kcl.ac.uk/specialcollections