National and regional atlases: sources, bibliography, articles

Summary

This bibliographical reference work, prepared by Jolanta Drecka and Halina Tuszyńska-Rękawek under the direction of Stanisław Leszczycki and published by the Institute of Geography of the Polish Academy of Sciences in 1964, systematically documents national and regional atlases and the scholarly literature associated with them. Produced in connection with the Commission on National Atlases of the International Geographical Union, it draws upon an extensive international network of geographers, cartographers, librarians, map curators, scientific institutions, and corresponding members. The listed collaborators represent countries across Europe, Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Oceania, illustrating both the global scope of the undertaking and the cooperative process through which bibliographical information was assembled and verified. The main bibliography is geographically organized. European materials receive the most extensive treatment, including separate sections for individual states, the USSR and its constituent regions, and Europe as a whole. Further sections cover African territories and countries; North, Central, and South America; Asian states and regions; Australia, New Guinea, and New Zealand. Entries encompass national atlases, regional and administrative atlases, thematic cartographic works, and publications concerning atlas conception, preparation, content, design, and use. The volume also includes a section of articles, indicating that it is not merely an inventory of atlas titles but a guide to the broader professional discussion surrounding modern atlas cartography. Multilingual titles, historical and contemporary place names, and materials issued under differing political and administrative systems are brought together within one reference framework. Detailed indexes of personal and geographical names provide access by author, editor, cartographer, country, province, city, and larger world region. Cross-references connect alternative names and changing territorial designations, while entry numbers allow users to trace indexed subjects back to the relevant bibliographical records. Overall, the publication functions as an international research instrument for geographers, cartographers, librarians, and historians of mapping. It records the worldwide development of national and regional atlas production up to the early 1960s, reveals major geographical concentrations and gaps in the available literature, and supplies a structured foundation for comparative research, library collection building, bibliographical control, and future atlas-planning activities.