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William H. Galvani Rare Maps Collection, circa 1570-1909

By Finding aid prepared by Lauren Goss

Collection Overview

Title: William H. Galvani Rare Maps Collection, circa 1570-1909

Predominant Dates: 1820-1870

ID: MAPS Galvani

Primary Creator: Galvani, W. H. (William Henry) (1864-1947)

Extent: 2.0 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The William H. Galvani Rare Maps are arranged into seven geographic series: 1. Africa; 2. Asia; 3. Europe; 4. North America; 5. South America; 6. World; and 7. Miscellaneous.  Within each series, maps are arranged by bibliographic source and subsequently by approximate size. Series 6 (World) is comprised of maps that depict more than one continent, but do not necessarily depict the entire world. Careful browsing of both a specific continent series and the world series is required to complete a thorough search of the collection. Each series contains some maps where the source is unknown.  The dates listed for each series include approximations of publications and should be verified through independent sources. Some of the maps include a three digit numbering system, presumably imposed by Galvani.

Languages of Materials: English [eng], French [fre], Russian [rus], Italian [ita], German [ger], Spanish;Castilian [spa]

Abstract

The William H. Galvani Rare Maps Collection includes maps and atlas pages depicting various regions of the globe during the 16th to 20th centuries. The collection is predominantly focused on military history from the 18th and 19th centuries, especially depicting the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, the United States Civil War, the Crimean War, and the Russo-Japanese War.

Scope and Content Notes

The William H. Galvani Rare Maps Collection is comprised of maps and atlas pages from the 16th to 20th centuries depicting various cities, countries and continents. There are a significant number of maps related to the French Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, United States Civil War, Crimean War and the Russo-Japanese War.  The collection also contains late 19th century topographical surveys of the Adirondacks, early 20th century military surveys of Cuba, and maps detailing the voyages of Captain James Cook.

Biographical / Historical Notes

William H. Galvani was born in Russia in 1864 and immigrated to the United States when he was 18 years old.  He worked in Oregon as a civil engineer and surveyor for the Northern Pacific Railway.  Later in life, Galvani engaged in Oregon politics, serving as the mayor of Seaside in the 1930's.  He moved to Portland in 1943 where he resided in the Oregonian building with his wife, Lilias. In the late 1930s, F.A. Gilfillan (the Oregon State College Dean of the School of Science and fellow bibliophile) began correspondence with Galvani regarding his extensive rare book collection.  In 1945, Galvani received an honorary doctorate of engineering at the 74th Annual Oregon State College Commencement.  He bequeathed his private library to Oregon State College in 1947.  This gift included approximately 5,500 books and over 1,050 maps.

Author: Lauren Goss

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 1054 sheets; 15 map folders

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: William H. Galvani bequeathed his private library, including his map collection, to the Oregon State College Library in 1947.

Related Materials: The Special Collections and Archives Research Center's holdings include many collections related to military history and activities.  Of particular note are U.S. Civil War Collection (MSS CivilWar), and Harvey L. McAlister Collection (MSS McAlister).  The Center's holdings also include temporally and geographically related collections such as Collection of Historical Newspaper Issues (MSS HistNewsIssues), and Gerald W. Williams Maps Collection (MAPS WilliamsG).  Other maps in the collections can be located by looking under that genre term. Correspondence between William Galvani and Dean F.A. Gilfillan can be found in F.A. Gilfillan Papers (MSS Gilfillan).

Preferred Citation: William H. Galvani Rare Maps Collection (MAPS Galvani), Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Processing Information: These materials were uncataloged as part of the OSU Valley Library historical maps collection, and were accessioned into the Special Collections and Archives Research Center collections in 2014.

Creators

Galvani, W. H. (William Henry) (1864-1947)

People, Places, and Topics

Africa--Maps.
Asia--Maps.
Cook, James, 1728-1779
Crimean War, 1853-1856.
Europe--Maps.
France--History--Revolution, 1789-1799.
Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821
Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815.
North America--Maps.
Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905.
Sino-French War, 1884-1885.
South America--Maps.
Spanish-American War, 1898.
Spanish-Moroccan War, 1859-1860.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Waterloo, Battle of, Waterloo, Belgium, 1815.
World maps.

Forms of Material

Maps (documents)


Box and Folder Listing