In UBC Rare Books and Special Collections, the main focus of our historical map collection is British Columbia. Our printed and manuscript holdings include historical maps, charts, engineering and architectural drawings, atlases and globes. Geographical coverage includes maps and charts of pre-1900 British Columbia, North America, the Canadian Arctic and the Pacific Rim, pre-1800 world/hemispheres, and Japanese maps of the Tokugawa era.

How to find Maps

There are four ways to find Historical maps in UBC Rare Books and Special Collections:

Most of the maps held in UBC Rare Books and Special Collections are listed online in the UBC Library catalogue and most are classified.

UBC Rare Books and Special Collections acquires archival materials in all media documenting the economic, political, cultural, labour, and literary history of British Columbia and Canada.

Many of the archival collections in UBC Rare Books and Special Collections contain maps. The maps in these collections are not usually listed individually in the UBC Library catalogue (there are some exceptions to this practice. Please ask a librarian for more information).

You should use a finding aid to locate a map in the Cartographic Archives. Please go to the A-Z listing of maps in archival collections for more information.

• For an listing of maps on slides, please click here.
• Digital images of maps and plans from the cartographic holdings of the Rare Books and Special Collections.

In the University Archives you will find institutional records documenting the history of the University of British Columbia (UBC), as well as related organizations such as the Alumni Association and the Alma Mater Society. Also included are personal papers of individuals closely associated with the University, such as faculty, administrators, and alumni.

There are a number of collections of papers in the University Archives which include historical maps and architectural plans, such as: Coolie Verner, M.Y Williams, and Gilbert Tucker. Many of these maps are stored in Rare Books and Special Collections. For more information, please go to the list of UBC Archives Archival Inventories.

There are some maps that have not yet been entered into the UBC Library online catalogue. They are listed in the card catalogue. Please ask a librarian or archivist to view the card catalogue.