Map Chat: “Encoded Toponyms” in Chinese Administrative Maps

If you’ve seen Heaven & Earth, either in person or online, a quick look at the large blue folding screen on display may have you believing that it’s more art than map. (Our staff has lots to say on that false binary, but that’s for a different newsletter!) Take a closer look, though, and you’ll notice small symbols blanketing the surface of the map. The symbols, also known as “encoded toponyms,” provide detailed information about the administrative structure of Qing Dynasty China. In this new Map Chat, guest curator Dr. Richard Pegg breaks down the meanings of each encoded toponym, and explains their unique contribution to the history of mapping information.

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Two-Week LMEC Teacher Institute Recap

In mid-July, members of LMEC’s education team helped facilitate a two-week teacher workshop on Indigenous and Black historical geography along New England’s maritime coast, in partnership with the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education in Portland, Maine. Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Institute brought together 25 educators from across the country, across grade levels and disciplines, to participate in place-based learning, seminars, and workshops. For more about the experience of LMEC educators during the NEH Institute, read the blog post below.

Read our recap article → 

Virtual: Fengshui and the State · Thursday, September 5, 1:00 pm ET

Join Tristan Brown, S.C. Fang Chinese Language and Culture Career Development Professor at MIT, to discuss his work on fengshui in Chinese politics and culture. Brown tells the story of the important roles—especially legal ones—played by fengshui in Chinese society during China’s last imperial dynasty, the Manchu Qing (1644–1912). This is the last program of our summer exhibition Heaven & Earth: The Blue Maps of China.

Register for the event → 

Trivia Corner: Calling all amusement park lovers!

It’s time to test your map and history knowledge to win a chance of receiving three free months in our Map Of The Month club. In order to enter, make sure you follow us on Instagram or Facebook and direct message us on either social media site the answer to the following question. We’ll accept answers until August 12 at 9 am ET. Those with correct answers will be included in a random draw—the winner will receive the next three Map of the Month club postcards for free!

Canobie Lake Park was a trolley park for which railroad when this 1912 map was created?

• Boston and Maine Railroad
• Massachusetts Northeast Street Railway
• Granite Railway
• Northern Cross Railroad

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Gallery Feature: FTV Roundup of July

From The Vault is a biweekly event series featuring collections objects selected by Leventhal Center staff. Each program revolves around a theme to explore in the collection, and objects are on display in our Learning Center for the afternoon. No registration is required!

In July, we hosted two From The Vault events: “Independence and Revolution” and “Functional Advertisements.” These events featured a diverse group of maps (some of which our staff had never seen in person before!), so we invite you to take a look at what we pulled from the collections in these roundup articles.

Read the highlights → 

Request For Proposals: Planning Facilitator

We are looking for a facilitator to help guide our work as the Leventhal Center begins the process of strategic vision planning for the Center’s next chapter, focusing on the period 2025–2030. The selected facilitator will spearhead, facilitate, and project manage a process which we expect to last approximately six months beginning in late fall 2024. Responses are due August 29.

See the request for proposals → 

Newsletter Shop Discount

This 1870s map, Nouveau Paris monumental: itinéraire pratique de l’étranger dans Paris, is currently featured in our gallery interactive “Looking Closely” to pair with the Summer Olympics! For the rest of this month, to celebrate the Olympics, use the code PARIS2024 for 10% off anything in our online gift shop.

Visit the shop →