Published in Moscow in 1990 by the Kartografiya Production Cartographic Association under the USSR Main Administration of Geodesy and Cartography, this volume is a bibliographic index of national atlases issued or under preparation throughout the world. It covers publications appearing after 1950 and incorporates information available through December 1989. Its principal focus is on comprehensive scientific-reference national atlases; where no formal national atlas existed, the compiler included nationally published comprehensive reference or popular-reference atlases capable of serving a comparable informational function. The bibliography draws on the holdings of the V. I. Lenin State Library of the USSR, other Soviet libraries represented in its union catalogue, the collections of Kartografiya, and Soviet and foreign printed sources. In total, it records more than 130 atlases. Entries are organized geographically into Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and Australia and Oceania, alphabetically by country and chronologically when several atlases are listed for one state. Following Soviet standards for the bibliographic description of cartographic works, each record gives the title in the original language and a Russian translation, the responsible organizations, purpose and edition, principal scales, place and publisher, publication date or initial year of a continuing series, physical extent, number of maps, accompanying texts, tables, diagrams, illustrations and indexes, format, notes, ISBN, and holding institution or documentary source. Each entry also summarizes thematic content, commonly including physical geography, geology, climate, water, soils, vegetation, natural resources, population, history, culture, administrative organization, agriculture, industry, transport, trade, communications, and land use. The thematic descriptions employ a classification designed to support automated cartographic information retrieval. The introductory survey emphasizes substantial international variation in atlas quality, reflecting differences in socioeconomic development, geographic knowledge, cartographic production, and geodetic services. Nevertheless, the overall trend is clear: the number of countries possessing national atlases was increasing, while revision, republication, and sheet-by-sheet updating were becoming more common. Europe had developed especially mature scientific-reference atlas programs; Asian and American countries were producing new editions and major national projects; African atlas production was stimulated by the need to document natural and labor resources for economic development, although its publications ranged from rigorous scientific works to educational popular atlases; and Australia and Oceania placed notable emphasis on resources, environmental conditions, and regional development. Recent atlases increasingly incorporated synthetic, evaluative, and predictive maps, expanding their role in planning, economic development, and rational resource management. The index therefore functions not merely as a catalogue of holdings, but as a research and reference instrument for cartographic agencies, planning and survey organizations, academic and educational institutions, libraries, and specialists studying foreign territories.
This bibliographic survey, compiled by Dr. W. Stams of the Section of Geodesy and Cartography at the Technical University of Dresden and published by the International Cartographic Association (ICA), systematically documents national and regional atlases published up to and including 1978. The article first reviews the development of regional atlases, tracing their origins to the mapping of the earth and the evolution of geographical atlases, and introduces methods and forms for their bibliographic recording. Regarding source material, the author evaluated numerous existing atlas bibliographies and, through international cooperation—including the IGU Commission on National and Regional Atlases and its successor, the ICA-IGU Working Group on Environmental Atlases—sent draft lists to 80 experts in 60 countries, yielding significant additions. The survey classifies and typifies atlases by territorial extent (e.g., national, regional) and content (e.g., comprehensive, thematic), and analyzes chronological development, distributional breakdown of types, regional grouping, and publication status. The main bibliography is organized by country or region, covering Europe, Asia, Australasia, Africa, the Americas, and polar areas, supplemented by an appendix on Indian atlases and a supplement section. The article emphasizes that national atlases constitute a special class of regional atlases, representing the most concentrated form of information on a state's natural, economic, social, and cultural image, distinct in scale and content. Despite incomplete data from some countries due to non-response, gaps were partially filled through collections such as the German State Library. Ultimately, this bibliography serves as a vital reference for cartography, geography, and regional studies, with prospects for future updates.
This document is a bibliography of national and regional atlases published between 1971 and 1975, compiled by the Polish Academy of Sciences for the International Geographical Congress in 1976. It systematically lists atlases from Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Antarctica, organized by continent and country. Each entry provides publication details, editorial bodies, dimensions, map counts, and review sources, covering representative works from countries such as Albania, France, the United Kingdom, Poland, and the Soviet Union. The bibliography offers a comprehensive overview of global atlas production in the early 1970s and serves as a valuable reference for research in geography and cartographic history.
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.
Looking for studies on a specific country? Country-specific literature is listed on each national atlas page.
