Mapping the American Revolutionary War (The Kenneth Nebenzahl, Jr., Lectures in the History of Cartography at the Newberry Library)

'Mapping the American Revolutionary War,' based on the fourth Kenneth Nebenzahl, Jr. Lecture in the History of Cartography at the Newberry Library, is the first study of changing cartographic approaches to a single series of military events.

J.B. Harley draws on archival material and 18th century published manuals to investigate the contemporary mapping of the Revolution. He classifies the considerable variety of Revolutionary maps into types, discusses the training of contemporary mapmakers, the consequent characteristics of their maps, and, finally, how the maps were used.

The chapters by Lawrence W. Towner and Barbara Bartz Petchenik examine the 19th and 20th century cartographic record of the war. Towner describes the work of three major 19th century historians and their roles in perpetuating or modifying the traditional cartographic representation of Revolutionary battles. Petchenik analyzes the maps in dozens of 20th century books, providing a general indictment of their graphic and intellectual quality. She concludes with an instructive account of the problems faced and solved by the staff of the 'Atlas of Early American History' in the preparation of a series of military maps.

This book is handsomely illustrated with seventy-five halftones and eleven line cuts, and is a valuable synthesis of the technical characteristics and historical significance of this cartographic genre.