FUN WITH MAPS – ISSUE 2023-77 DAILY FEATURE:

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (April 24, 2023) – In today’s edition of Fun with Maps from Steve Kovacs, we check in at a very big library, but we cannot check-out any items on the shelves.

GREAT LIBRARY

The Library of Congress was established on April 24, 1800.

The British burned down the small initial collection during the War of 1812.  Thomas Jefferson subsequently donated his library to replace the lost items.

The Library grew quite a bit since those early days to approximately 173 million items from books, to maps, to photos, to all US Copyright items and so on.

It is primarily a research library frequented by about 2 million people annually.  However, only certain members of Congress and the Government can check out items, while the commoners must view items on site.

The Library of Congress and the British Library have about the same size catalogued items in their collections, making them the top two libraries in size globally.

Displayed here is a highly unusual map of Washington, focusing on the type of street pavements used for the 230 miles of roads in Washington: wood, asphalt, cobblestones gravel, dirt, etc. Captain Greene is credited for the map from 1885.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.