Series 2: Europe, 1920-2013
Scope and Content of the Collection
This is a growing collection of automobile road maps issued since the early 20th century by the French tire manufacturing firm of Pneu Michelin (commonly shortened to Michelin). As of 2016 it includes 4,990 folded maps (published 1905-ongoing), accompanied by printed ephemera, secondary sources, souvenirs, and collectibles (approximately 350 items, 1911-2016).
Includes extensive holdings of Michelin's national road map series for France and other West European countries, usually in multiple editions of numbered sheets, issued in multiple but differently numbered national series, and published at various dates since approximately 1910. Geographic coverage is most complete for Benelux, British Isles, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland.
The collection is far less complete for maps of areas outside Western Europe, partly because Michelin was less prolific in these areas, and partly because the collector Robert L. McDonald was most interested in collecting maps of France. With some exceptions, the bulk of world maps and maps of Eastern Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Asia in this collection were published after 1970.
4,990 folded road maps are sorted in 7 series established for the collection, assigned individual item numbers in one sequence spanning Michelin 1-Michelin 4990, and filed in boxes 1-66 (note that Michelin Map Collection item numbers differ from the printed sheet numbers appearing on the front panels of maps). Included are approximately 150 additions interfiled within McDonald's original collection in 2016.
Maps in Series 1-6 are listed in single-line descriptions that include some or all of the following information: Michelin Map Collection item numbers, cover or panel title keywords, printed Michelin sheet number, edition statement or plate code, cover design code, scale, notes, and publication date. Adapted from McDonald's extensive notes, map titles are recorded incompletely and inconsistently with varying punctuation. Most titles are briefly recorded using selected French or English cover or panel title keywords (usually place names, sometimes out of printed order). Sheets with two or more multilingual titles are usually recorded in only one language. Most item descriptions include cover or title panel design codes (examples include "Fr12", "Fr13", "X05", and "X06"). These codes were assigned by McDonald from an unexplained scheme he devised, or from an unknown source, and have been retained here without further explanation. Publication date ranges for series and subseries are derived from, and limited to, maps in the collection in 2016. In other words, complete and definitive date ranges of many series published by Michelin vary from those in this incomplete collection.
The earliest separately published maps in this collection, together with their filing locations, are listed below:
- Circuit d’Auvergne eliminatoires françaises et Coupe Gordon-Bennett (1905). Filed in Series 1, France, subseries 7, city and city region maps of France, Box 30, Item 2615.
- Carte Michelin: environs de Clermont-Ferrand au 200,000me (approximately 1910). Filed in Series 1, France, subseries 7, city and city region maps of France, Box 30, Item 2617.
- Carte Michelin: France à 1:1,000,000e, partie nord-est (published between 1908-1918?). Filed in Series 1, France, subseries 8, national maps of France, Box 35, Item 3002.
- Une des cartes Michelin: la France a l'echelle de 1:2,400,000e (published 192-?). Filed as the index map at the start of Series 1, France, subseries 1, regional maps of France, approximately 1910-approximately 1925, Box 1, Item 1.
- Michelin touring map of the United States: Providence (approximately 1921). Filed in Series 4: America, Australia, and Thailand, Box 65, Item 4911.
McDonald's collection included 215 Michelin automobile travel guidebooks published between 1900-2010 (including Red guides, Green guides, and 25 World War I battlefield guidebooks published between 1917-1921), 117 road atlases, 32 typewritten "Itinéraires Michelin" compiled to order by Michelin's tourist bureau (approximately 1925-1931), and 17 books and miscellaneous publications. These have been separated from the collection for individual cataloging, all to be traced in the online catalog with McDonald's name (excepting duplicate copies of items previously held by the library). A partial checklist of separated items is filed in Series 7, Michelin Miscellany. Series 7 also includes 5 printed checklists compiled by McDonald in 2013 (159 pages total), completed before the collection was extensively rearranged in 2016.
Dates
- Creation: 1920-2013
Creator
- From the Collection: Pneu Michelin (Firm) (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
The Michelin map collection is open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).
Arrangement note
Organized in the following subseries:
- Subseries 1: World War II Military maps and related Post-War maps of Europe, scattered sheet numbers, scale 1:200,000 and 1:1,000,000, 1936-1953 (Boxes 41 -42)
- Subseries 2: Europe, sheets 920, 970, and 705, scale 1:3,000,000, 1982-2007 (Box 43)
- Subseries 3: Eastern Europe, the Balkan Peninsula, and Turkey, scattered sheet numbers, scale 1:140,000-1:1,000,000, 1978-2012 (Boxes 43-44)
- Subseries 4: Austria, sheets 426 and 730, scale 1:400,000, 1978-2007 (Box 44)
- Subseries 5: Regional maps of Benelux Countries, sheets 1-3, scale 1:200,000, approximately 1920-1925 (Box 45)
- Subseries 6: Regional maps of Benelux Countries, sheets 1-6 and 8, scale 1:200,000, 1927-1982 (Boxes 45-46)
- Subseries 7: Regional maps of Benelux Countries, sheets 210-215, scale 1:200,000, 1984-2000 (Box 46)
- Subseries 8: Regional maps of Benelux Countries, sheets 531-534, scale 1:200,000, 2003-2007 (Box 46)
- Subseries 9: National maps of Benelux Countries, scattered sheet numbers, scale 1:150,000-1:1,000,000, 1947-2012 (Boxes 46-47)
- Subseries 10: Regional maps of British Isles: Great Britain and Ireland, sheets 1- 31, scale 1:200,000, approximately 1914-approximately 1925 (Box 48)
- Subseries 11: Regional maps of British Isles: Great Britain, sheets 2-15, scale 1:200,000, 1923-1932 (Box 49)
- Subseries 12: Regional maps of British Isles: Great Britain and Northern Ireland, sheets 401-404, scale 1:400,000, 1980-2001 (Box 50)
- Subseries 13: Regional maps of British Isles: Great Britain and Northern Ireland, sheets 501-504, scale 1:400,000, 2003-2011 (Box 50)
- Subseries 14: Regional maps of British Isles: separate maps of Ireland, sheets 405, 923, 712, and 797, scale 1:400,000, 1986-2008 (Box 51)
- Subseries 15: Small scale maps of British Isles: Great Britain and Ireland, scattered sheet numbers, scale 1:887,040-1:1,500,000, approximately 1922-2010 (Box 51)
- Subseries 16: Regional maps of Germany, sheets 202-206, scale 1:200,000, 1945 -1983 (Box 52)
- Subseries 17: Regional maps of Germany, sheets 411-413, scale 1:400,000, 1987 -1996 (Box 53)
- Subseries 18: Regional maps of Germany, sheets 415-420, scale 1:300,000, 1996 -2001 (Box 53)
- Subseries 19: Regional maps of Germany, sheets 541-546, scale 1:300,000- 1:375,000, 2003-2011 (Box 53)
- Subseries 20: National maps of Germany, scattered sheet numbers, scale 1:1,000,000 and 1:750,000, 1931-2007 (Boxes 53-54)
- Subseries 21: Regional maps of northern Italy, sheets 1 and 2, scale 1:200,000, 1923 (Box 55)
- Subseries 22: Regional maps of Italy, sheets 428-433, scale 1:400,000, 1990-2001 (Box 55)
- Subseries 23: Regional maps of Italy, sheets 561-566 and 132, most at scale 1:400,000, 2003-2010 (Box 55)
- Subseries 24: National maps of Italy, sheets 988 and 735, scale 1:1,000,000, 1956-2008 (Box 56)
- Subseries 25: Scandinavia, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, sheets 985, 711, and 752-754, scale 1:200,000-1:1,800,000, 1940-2008 (Box 57)
- Subseries 26: Regional maps of Spain and Portugal, sheets 1-13, scale 1:400,000, approximately 1920-approximately 1929 (Box 57)
- Subseries 27: Regional maps of Spain and Portugal, sheets 40-50, scale 1:400,000, 1928-1986 (Box 57)
- Subseries 28: Regional maps of Spain, Portugal, and the Canary Islands, sheets 441-447, 449-450, and 220, most at scale 1:400,000, 1983-2002 (Box 58)
- Subseries 29: Regional maps of Spain and Portugal, various numbered sheets, scale 1:130,000-1:400,000, 2003-2007 (Box 59)
- Subseries 30: National maps of Spain, Portugal, and the Iberian Peninsula, scattered sheet numbers, scale 1:400,000-1:1,000,000, 1932-2009 (Boxes 59-60)
- Subseries 31: Regional maps of Switzerland, sheets 1-4, scale 1:200,000, approximately 1922-approximately 1929 (Box 61)
- Subseries 32: Regional maps of Switzerland, sheets 21, 23, 24, and 26, scale 1:200,000, 1930-1982 (Box 61)
- Subseries 33: Regional maps of Switzerland, sheets 216-219, scale 1:200,000, 1985-2002 (Box 61)
- Subseries 34: Regional maps of Switzerland, sheets 551-553, scale 1:200,000, 2003-2007 (Box 62)
- Subseries 35: National maps of Switzerland, sheets 427, 927, and 729, scale 1:400,000, 1977-2009 (Box 62)
Repository Details
Part of the The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts and Archives Repository
60 West Walton Street
Chicago Illinois 60610 United States
312-255-3512
reference@newberry.org