Vol. 18, No. 28	April 22, 1999

Historic regional maps donated to Morris Library

The Pearl Herlihy Daniels Historical Map Collection has been donated to the University of Delaware Library by her sons, Thomas Herlihy III and Jerome O. Herlihy.

Pearl Herlihy Daniels, who died in December 1994, was an avid collector of historical maps, particularly ones depicting Delaware and adjacent areas. She served on the University of Delaware Library Associates Board from 1984 through 1995 and her collection was featured in the UD Library's 1991 exhibition, "Delaware Collects."

The current exhibition in the Special Collections Exhibition Gallery, at the Morris Library, "Lands of Opportunity," includes several maps from the collection.

The collection contains more than 100 historic maps and more than 80 facsimile reproductions of historic maps, original artwork and reproductions of Delaware scenes by Jack Lewis, Robert Shaw and other artists, and a collection of map reference books.

Several boxes of Pearl Herlihy Daniels' papers accompany the collection, including correspondence, typescripts and notes of articles and lectures, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, color slides, notebooks containing listings of maps, acquisition records, ephemera and miscellaneous material.

Individual historic maps of interest include work by early cartographers and engravers such as Willem Blau, Abraham Goos, Jan Jansson, Gerhard Mercator, Hermann Moll, Sebastian Munsterand, Abraham Ortelius, Wyfliet and others.

Important Delaware and regional maps include John Senex's "A New Map of Virginia, Maryland & the Improved Parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey" (ca. 1719), Joshua Fisher's "A Chart of Delaware Bay and River" (1776), Lewis Evans' "Map of the Middle British Colonies" (1776), an anonymous "Plan of Wilmington and Its Environs" (ca. 1798), and two charts by Joseph de Barres of the Delaware Bay and River printed in the 1780s.

When describing her collection several years ago, Daniels commented, "Historical maps challenge the imagination and lead to avenues of research which are endless."

"The Pearl Herlihy Daniels Map Collection will serve as an important resource for scholars and students in a variety of academic disciplines," Susan Brynteson, director of libraries, said. "The University of Delaware Library is honored to be the home of this important resource which will be available for students and scholars now and for decades to come."

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