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Picture the map: an online cartographic collection of Manitoba history using "Flickr".

Article Excerpt
Manitoba has a rich legacy of cartographic material, printed throughout the progression from Rupert's Land to Postage Stamp Province to Gateway to the West. While the cartographic material is numerous, its location is scattered throughout many different institutions, including Library and Archives Canada, Archives of Manitoba and the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections, not to mention many other specialized collections scattered throughout the province. The goal of the historical maps of Manitoba digital collection will be the ongoing, identification, location, scanning and displaying of these intriguing images over the Internet.

Guides

While there are many bibliographies of cartographic material relating to Manitoba, for the purposes of identifying material for the online collection, the Manitoba Historical Atlas: A Selection of Facsimile Maps, Plans and Sketches from 1612 to 1969 by John Warkentin and Richard Ruggles will be used. The 585 page publication by the Manitoba Historical Society contains a wealth of information on Manitoba's cartographic past, with over 300 maps cited, including the location of the original and annotated, providing commentary about the circumstances surrounding the creation of a particular map or series of maps. While the atlas also provides reproductions of each map cited and annotated, the illustrations are black and white, often only a section of a larger map and most of the maps are at a resolution that does not allow readers to explore the maps at a refined level. Through scanning, these maps can be brought into the digital realm, where their content, colours, textures and icons can be explored and rediscovered by all Manitobans with an Internet connection.

Scanning and Software...

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