COLLECTION NAME:
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
Record
Author:
Reichsamt fur Landesaufnahme
Date:
1887
Short Title:
Legend for Karte des Deutschen Reiches.
Publisher:
Reichsamt fur Landesaufnahme
Type:
Atlas Map
Obj Height cm:
40
Obj Width cm:
57
Note:
A highly detailed legend from the era of most of the maps in this online set. Major subdivisions are: (1) Trains, Streets, and Paths, characterized by various gauges of railways, road and path types, stations, overpasses, stopping points, etc.; (2) Political Boundaries, including country or realm boundaries, districts, counties, and other administrative units; (3) Bodies of Water, featuring a wide range of hydrography-related features including lakes, locks, fords, jetties, islands, and culverts; (4) Earth and Landforms, with vegetation and land types; (5) Dwelling Places, showing various sizes of settlements; (6) Topographic Signs, such as benchmarks, built landscape features like walls, churches, cemeteries, lime ovens, etc. There is a key linking different fonts and sizes and styles to particular features. This legend has been digitized from the Library of Congress Collection, with digital restoration work generously provided by Dr. Horst Otto Mueller from Ratzeburg, Germany. This entire map series is remarkable for the level of fine detail. As a consequence, it was scanned at 800 PPI providing four times the resolution of the typical detailed map scan of 400 PPI.
Country:
Germany
Full Title:
Zeichen-Erklaerung fur die Karte des Deutschen Reiches. Neue Ausgabe 1887.
List No:
5820.730
Series No:
730
Publication Author:
Reichsamt fur Landesaufnahme
Pub Date:
1893
Pub Title:
Karte des Deutschen Reiches.
Pub Note:
In an agreement dated March 4, 1878, the states of Prussia, Saxony, Bavaria, and Wurttemberg (the areas of modern day Germany, Luxembourg, Poland, and Kaliningrad, and part of Lithuania) agreed to map their areas on a 1:100,000 scale in a common topographic grid survey consisting of 674 sheets. Each sheet covers about 30 minutes in longitude and 15 minutes in latitude. One centimeter on a map is equivalent to 1 kilometer on the ground. Average sheet size is about 35 cm x 28 cm. Each sheet covers about 1000 square kilometers and was engraved on copper. A polyhedral projection was used. Prime meridian was Ferro, later switched to Greenwich. The series is known as the KDR-100 (German General Staff map) and was surveyed beginning in 1878, although many sheets were simply drawn from pre-existing military maps, often of larger (more detailed) scale. The mapping continued until 1945, so most sheets were revised at least once. This collection strongly trends toward the earliest editions. They were published for the General Staffs of Bavaria, Prussia, Saxony and Wurttemberg by "R. Eisenschmidt, Verlags-Buchhandlung" (publishing bookstore). (Berlin). Key organizations indicated on the maps include (1) Topographic Bureau of Royal Saxony, abbreviated in German as "topogr. bureau des konigl. sachs." And (2) Royal Prussian General Staff, abbreviated in German as "Kgl. Preuss. Generalstab." Most sheets stamped with "The Library of Massachusetts, State House, Boston," and the apparent date of acquisition. Almost all of the sheets are trimmed to the neatline to allow for closer alignment of multiple sheets when viewing, apparently a common practice by publishers of the sheets. Therefore the printed publishing date has been removed and we are estimating the date based on the acquisition stamp date.
Pub List No:
5820.000
Pub Type:
National Atlas
Pub Maps:
674
Pub Height cm:
40
Pub Width cm:
57
Image No:
5820730
Authors:
Reichsamt fur Landesaufnahme
Link To Source
Legend for Karte des Deutschen Reiches.
