Explore the colorful world of historic atlases and maps from the New Jersey Room's collection. Each week during Summer Learning Program we will highlight a rarely seen item.

For week two we look towards Independence Day, presenting an atlas prepared in conjunction with the 1892 Columbian Exposition, a World’s Fair held in Chicago. Considered a milestone in establishing the United States as a global presence and power, the Exposition set the stage for the 20th century rise of the US as a global superpower. The colorful flags of the title page facing collage, and the historical series, assert a unity reflecting the Manifest Destiny of cross continental expansion at a time when the Civil War was in living memory, even as the backlash to Reconstruction was ramping up. The map of the grounds and the illustrations of the grand pavilions provide a sense of the purposefully awe-inspiring scale of the event. 

Visit the New Jersey Room any day of the week (except Sunday!) or follow our social media posts for more information.