Atlases of New York City

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Title
Atlases of New York City
Dates / Origin
Date Issued: 1800 - 2000 (Approximate)
Library locations
Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division
Topics
New York (N.Y.)
New York Metropolitan Area
Real property
Genres
Maps
Atlases
Description
NYPL's holdings of real estate and fire insurance atlases dating from the 19th and 20th centuries, showing streets, blocks, tax lots, and land use classifications of New York City's five boroughs and the surrounding metropolitan area. Cartographers and publishers include Perris, Hyde, Hopkins, Bromley, and Sanborn. William Perris (d.1862), an English-trained civil engineer and surveyor, originated the real estate map format. The Perris maps depict Manhattan and Brooklyn in the 1850s-1860s, when the two boroughs were still separate cities. Commonly called "fire insurance maps," these maps show streets, blocks, tax lots, and current use classifications; they also indicate locations of former streams and related natural features, earlier roads, previous land uses, lot lines, and more; their sequencing replicates the original published volumes. The atlases showcase the design and engineering of particular buildings and neighborhoods, as well as the wider social and political history of New York City. The more recent and prolific mapmaker, "Sanborn" has become shorthand for "fire insurance map" to a wide range of map users in local government and the real estate, hazard insurance and related industries, throughout the nation and the world. Aerial maps and topographical surveys are also in this collection.
Type of Resource
Cartographic
Identifiers
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): de1dcfb0-c5f6-012f-1dfc-58d385a7bc34
Rights Statement
The New York Public Library believes that this item is in the public domain under the laws of the United States, but did not make a determination as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. This item may not be in the public domain under the laws of other countries. Though not required, if you want to credit us as the source, please use the following statement, "From The New York Public Library," and provide a link back to the item on our Digital Collections site. Doing so helps us track how our collection is used and helps justify freely releasing even more content in the future.

Item timeline of events

  • 1800: Issued (Approximate)
  • 2024: Found by you!
  • 2025

MLA Format

Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. "Atlases of New York City" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1800 - 2000. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/de1dcfb0-c5f6-012f-1dfc-58d385a7bc34

Chicago/Turabian Format

Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. "Atlases of New York City" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 19, 2024. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/de1dcfb0-c5f6-012f-1dfc-58d385a7bc34

APA Format

Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. (1800 - 2000). Atlases of New York City Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/de1dcfb0-c5f6-012f-1dfc-58d385a7bc34

Wikipedia Citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/de1dcfb0-c5f6-012f-1dfc-58d385a7bc34 | title= (cartographic) Atlases of New York City, (1800 - 2000) |author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=March 19, 2024 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>

Atlases of New York City