Development and Acquisitions

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From the archives

The James Ford Bell Library acquired a rare, 17th-century map of the Java Sea, thanks to generous funding from the James Ford Bell Trust.

The 1672 manuscript chart, by Dutch cartographer Johannes Blaeu, was commissioned by the Dutch East India Company to provide more accurate information of the area for its ships coming from the Indian Ocean or sailing south of the region to expand trade. “It is one of only about 356 Dutch East India Company charts that have survived out of an estimated 55,000 created between 1619 and 1799,” said Marguerite Ragnow, curator of the James Ford Bell Library.