On Monday, April 3, at 1:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the Harrison Institute and Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia historian S. Max Edelson joins map collector and scholar Dr. Seymour I. Schwartz in a presentation, “The Mapping of America, A Conversation with Dr. Seymour Schwartz,” featuring images from the Schwartz Collection in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library.
Dr. Schwartz has assembled his significant collection of North American maps over the course of the last five decades while pursuing a distinguished surgical career. His interest in maps began in 1964 when his wife, Ruth, suggested that he take up a hobby—something to broaden his intense focus on surgery. Curiosity led him to pick up a 50-cent book entitled Maps and Mapmakers which introduced him to cartography, a field with which he had previously been unfamiliar.Since he began collecting, Dr. Schwartz has become an internationally renowned historian of cartography and has written five books in the field. He remains engaged in research, writing, and teaching—continuing to share his knowledge and enthusiasm with students, scholars, and the public.
Topics will include how Europeans represented the spaces of colonial and Revolutionary America, and how individual maps take on larger meanings when joined together in a collection.
The event is free and open to the public.