Washington Map Society News & Announcements

Spring Issue of the Portolan Now Available

Eliane Dotson — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 01:40:32 GMT

Portolan Issue #125 has just been published and is now available on this website to members. Check out the Table of Contents here.

Sam Cartwright Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 18:07:32 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on February 19, 2026 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Sam Cartwright. The title of the presentation is "Astrotopophilia: A Love of Place with Maps of Space."

Mark Giordano Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 21:14:05 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on January 22, 2026 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Mark Giordano. The title of the presentation is "Teaching Geopolitics with Maps."

Tom Harper Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 21:11:51 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on December 11, 2025 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Tom Harper from the British Library. The title of the presentation is "Overview of the British Library's New Map Exhibition, Secret Maps."

Winter Issue of the Portolan Now Available

Eliane Dotson — Sat, 06 Dec 2025 23:38:46 GMT

Portolan Issue 124 has just been published and is now available on this website to members. Check out the Table of Contents here.

Ronald Gibbs Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 23:14:21 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on November 13, 2025 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Ronald Gibbs from the California Map Society. The title of the presentation is "The American Revolution Told in Ten Maps."

Henrik Dupont Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Sat, 25 Oct 2025 17:58:51 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on October 14, 2025 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Henrik Dupont from the Royal Library in Copenhagen, Denmark. The title of the presentation is "The Mapping of Greenland from 1700-2025."

Fall Issue of the Portolan Now Available

Eliane Dotson — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 17:27:45 GMT

Portolan Issue #123 has just been published and is now available on this website to members. Check out the Table of Contents here.

Two new Lecture Videos Available: Kris Butler & Casey Price

Eliane Dotson — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 17:55:05 GMT

The videos for WMS member meetings in April and June are now available to view in the members area. In April, the guest speaker was Kris Butler, and the presentation was "American Drink Maps of the Boston Area and Towns in Maine and New Hampshire in Later Editions of Rowntree & Sherwell's 'The Temperance Problem and Social Reform'." In June, the guest speaker was Casey Price, and the presentation was "'Our Fire Sits Here': The French Cartography of Indigenous Coalescence in the Native South."

Spring Issue of the Portolan Now Available

Eliane Dotson — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 19:13:23 GMT

Portolan Issue #122 has just been published and is now available on this website to members. Check out the Table of Contents here.

Laura Ten Eyck, PJ Mode & Eliane Dotson Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 17:30:17 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on March 20, 2025 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speakers were Laura Ten Eyck, PJ Mode and Eliane Dotson. The title of the presentation is "Just in Case I Don't Live Forever, What Should Happen to My Collection?"

Ian Spangler & Emily Bowe Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 20:47:53 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on January 16, 2025 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speakers were Ian Spangler and Emily Bowe, Boston Public Library. The title of the presentation is "A Look Behind 'Processing Place: How Computers and Cartographers Redrew our World.'"

Winter Issue of the Portolan Now Available

Eliane Dotson — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 17:45:52 GMT

Portolan Issue #121 has just been published and is now available on this website to members. Check out the Table of Contents here.

Dr. Jean-Pierre Isbouts Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 20:29:21 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on December 4, 2024 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Dr. Jean-Pierre Isbouts, Fielding Graduate University . The title of the presentation is "Mapping the Holy Land: An Illustrated Discussion."

Matthew Edney Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 18:42:18 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on November 7, 2024 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Matthew Edney, University of Southern Maine. The title of the presentation is "What's Different about Map Makers in the Nineteenth Century, and therefore in Volume Five of The History of Cartography?"

Dr. Catherine Gibson Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Sat, 12 Oct 2024 15:37:59 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on October 10, 2024 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Dr. Catherine Gibson, University of Tartu, Estonia. The title of the presentation is "Mapmakers in Action - Drawing Borders in the Baltic, 1919-1920."

Fall Issue of the Portolan Now Available

Eliane Dotson — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 20:35:02 GMT

Portolan Issue #120 has just been published and is now available on this website to members. Check out the Table of Contents here.

Heiko Mühr Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Peter Porrazzo — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 16:03:38 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on June 20, 2024 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Heiko Mühr, University of California Berkeley. The title of the presentation is "Mapping German Americans and Their Communities: Heinz Klose and His 1974 Ethnographic Atlas."

Leonid Chekin Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 13:59:21 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on April 11, 2024 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Leonid Chekin, World Bank Group. The title of the presentation is "Svalbard, Paradise and Beyond: The Arctic Islands on Medieval and Early Modern Maps."

Spring Issue of the Portolan Now Available

Eliane Dotson — Sun, 24 Mar 2024 19:30:49 GMT

Portolan Issue #119 has just been published and is now available on this website to members. Check out the Table of Contents here.

Gary Spaid Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 01:13:28 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on March 14, 2024 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Gary Spaid, Past President of the Road Map Collectors Association. The title of the presentation is "Why We Collect Road Maps."

J. C. McElveen Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 18:50:26 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on January 18, 2024 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was J. C. McElveen, Vice Chair of the Philip Lee Phillips Map Society. The title of the presentation is "Herman Moll and John Senex: Mapping North America in the Early 18th Century (from the British Point of View)."

Dr. Imre Demhardt Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 16:19:33 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on December 6, 2023 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Dr. Imre Demhardt, University of Texas at Arlington. The title of the presentation is "The Changing Map of the Island of Enchantment: Puerto Rico and the Spanish-American War of 1898."

2023 Ristow Prize Winner Announced

Eliane Dotson — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 18:31:29 GMT

Each year the Washington Map Society offers the Ristow Prize in honor of the late Dr. Walter W. Ristow, one of the nation’s premier map librarians and cartographic authors. Dr. Ristow was for many years head of the Geography and Map Division at the Library of Congress and was the founding president of the Washington Map Society.

Luis A. Robles Macías, a PhD candidate in History at Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), is the winner of the 2023 Dr. Walter W. Ristow Prize for Academic Achievement in the History of Cartography for his paper entitled "Polar Hemispheres: The Overlooked Alternative to Nautical Planispheres in Renaissance Iberia." Luis obtained his engineering degree at the University of Seville and a Master of Science at the Institut Français du Pétrole (France) and McGill University (Canada) in 2001. He has since pursued a professional career in clean energy that has taken him to France, California, and Belgium. In parallel Luis became interested in the mathematical aspects of old maps and in the circulation of geographical knowledge in the Renaissance, which resulted in several academic publications. He eventually embarked on a PhD in History at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), devoted to the life and works of sixteenth-century mapmaker Juan Vespucci. The defense of the thesis is scheduled for January 2024. Luis has been a scientific advisor to the MEDEA-Chart European research project on portolan charts and since 2020 is the editor of Maps in History, the magazine of the Brussels Map Circle. His winning paper will be published in a future issue of The Portolan.

Winter Issue of the Portolan Now Available

Eliane Dotson — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 18:20:49 GMT

Portolan Issue #118 has just been published and is now available on this website to members. Check out the Table of Contents here.

Dale Loberger Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 18:22:37 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on November 9, 2023 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Dale Loberger, a Certified GIS Professional (GISP). The title of the presentation is "Using GIS to Tease Information from Historic Maps in the Search for Old Roads."

Richard Francaviglia Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 02:27:14 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on September 12, 2023 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Richard Francaviglia from the University of Texas at Arlington. The title of the presentation is "The Role of Maps in Films about Exploration and Discovery: Some Latin American Examples."

Fall Issue of the Portolan Now Available

Eliane Dotson — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 17:05:28 GMT

Portolan Issue #117 has just been published and is now available on this website to members. Check out the Table of Contents here.

Spring Issue of the Portolan Now Available

Eliane Dotson — Sun, 25 Jun 2023 15:51:04 GMT

Portolan Issue #116 has just been published and is now available on this website to members. Check out the Table of Contents here.

Rodney Kite-Powell Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 15:33:14 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on June 14, 2023 is now available in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Rodney Kite-Powell from the Tampa Bay History Center. The title of the presentation is "Key West and the Florida Keys: Mapping the History of the Conch Republic."

Adamson & Licameli Lecture Now Available in the Members Area

Peter Porrazzo — Mon, 29 May 2023 21:42:30 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on May 19, 2023, at the WMS Annual Dinner, is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speakers were Andrew Adamson of Heritage Charts and Frank Licameli of George Mason University. Their presentation was titled " F. W. Des Barres' Great Folly."

George Barros Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 13:40:35 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on March 16, 2022 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was George Barros from the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, DC. The title of the presentation is "Open-Source Maps: Mapping the Russian Invasion of Ukraine."

John Hessler Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 13:35:26 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on February 16, 2023 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speakers were John Hessler, Catherine Discenza and Anika Fenn Gilman. The title of the presentation is "The Mapping of Race in America: The Legacy of Slavery and Redlining from 1860 to Present."

Winter Issue of the Portolan Now Available

Eliane Dotson — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 21:14:11 GMT

Portolan Issue #115 has just been published and is now available on this website to members. Check out the Table of Contents here.

Andrew Kapochunas Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 14:10:54 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on January 5, 2023 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Andrew Kapochunas, secretary of the New York Map Society and member of the Lithuanian Cartographic Society. The title of the presentation is "The Struggle of Mapmakers to Keep Up with Changing Post-WWI Boundaries Between Lithuania and Poland."

Frank Manasek Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Fri, 16 Dec 2022 13:33:45 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on December 14, 2022 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Frank Manasek, retired Professor from Dartmouth Medical School, and a former antiquarian map dealer. The title of the presentation is "The Birth of Moon Maps: Looking Through the Telescope, 1610-1696."

Dr. Thomas Horst Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 03:06:26 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on November 30, 2022 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Dr. Thomas Horst from the University of Lisbon, Portugal. The title of his presentation is "The Amazing (Hi-)Story of the Bavarian Army Library Map Collection - Reconstructed 60 Years After Its Restitution to Germany."

Les Trager Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 01:03:14 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on September 20, 2022 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Les Trager, retired lawyer and member of the New York and Washington Map Societies. The title of his presentation is Maps of the Ancient Explorers and Climate Implications.

Lena Denis Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Sun, 19 Jun 2022 13:58:28 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on June 16, 2022 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Lena Denis from Johns Hopkins University. The title of her presentation is The Foundation and the Gateway: What Maps Show and Hide about Baltimore and American History.

Spring Issue of the Portolan Now Available

Eliane Dotson — Sat, 18 Jun 2022 21:34:46 GMT

Portolan Issue #113 has just been published and is now available on this website to members. Check out the Table of Contents here.

Matthew Mingus Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Fri, 27 May 2022 01:39:54 GMT

The video of the WMS Annual Dinner presentation on May 20, 2022 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Matthew Mingus from the University of New Mexico-Gallup. The title of the presentation is Mapping a Defeated Germany in the Aftermath of World War II.

Julie Sweetkind-Singer & Gregory March Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Peter Porrazzo — Sun, 24 Apr 2022 12:32:39 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on April 20, 2022 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speakers were Julie-Sweetkind Singer from Stanford University and Gregory March from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The title of their presentation is World War II Captured Maps: The Army Map Service and Two University Libraries.

Asa Simon Mittman Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 03:21:10 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on March 8, 2022 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Asa Simon Mittman from California State University, Chico. The title of the presentation is Seeing Across the World: How Medieval Mapmakers Brought their Monsters Home.

Barbara Belyea Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 19:11:07 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on February 10, 2022 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Barbara Belyea from the University Calgary. The title of the presentation is Papering the Landscape: Maps of Regime Change in North America.

Winter Issue of the Portolan Now Available

Eliane Dotson — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 13:52:17 GMT

Portolan Issue #112 has just been published and is now available on this website to members. Check out the Table of Contents here.

Benjamin B. Olshin Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 13:23:20 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on January 13, 2022 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Benjamin B. Olshin from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. The title of the presentation is Indigenous Mapping: Cultural and Psychological Sources.

Peter A. Cowdrey, Jr. Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 21:35:37 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on December 9, 2021 is now available to view in the Members Area. The guest speaker was Peter A. Cowdrey, Jr. from the Cognetta Family Trust Collection of Historic Florida Maps, Tallahassee, FL. The title of the presentation is The Florida Origins of North American Cartography.

Mural Restoration Project Dedicated to Former WMS Board Member Chas Langelan

Eliane Dotson — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 21:19:53 GMT

The Banneker-Douglass Museum in Annapolis, Maryland is currently in the process of preparing a mural showing Andrew Ellicott & Benjamin Banneker surveying the boundaries of Washington, D.C. The mural will be dedicated to Chas Langelan, a dedicated former WMS member and board member. The museum has initiated a campaign to fund the mural project. If you would like to find out more information about the mural project or make a donation, please visit the museum's page dedicated to the project.

2022 Miami International Map Fair Cancelled

Eliane Dotson — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 20:59:30 GMT

On behalf of John Shubin, Chair of the Board of Trustees, and Jorge Zamanillo, Executive Director of HistoryMiami:

Unfortunately we have decided to cancel the in-person Miami International Map Fair in February of 2022.

This is a difficult decision for us. We took into account the increased expenses due to inflation, the unknown variable of fair attendance, and the ever-present possibility of a resurgence in COVID19 cases in Europe and the United States. Another resurgence would impede some of our dealers and guests from traveling or may cause closures again from our local government. HistoryMiami appreciates your understanding.

John Hessler & Meagan Snow Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 20:55:52 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on November 13, 2021 is now available to view in the Members Area. The meeting was organized in conjunction with the Library of Congress Geography and Map Division and Johns Hopkins University. The guest speakers were John Hessler and Meagan Snow from the Library of Congress. The title of the presentation is Mapping Ourselves: A Cartographic Introduction to the 2020 Census & Tapestry Segmentation Analysis.

Andrew Rhodes Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 20:12:44 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on September 9, 2021 is now available to view in the Members Area. The meeting was presented in partnership with the Boston, California, Chicago, New York, Rocky Mountain, Texas, and the Library of Congress' Philip Lee Phillips Societies. The guest speaker was Andrew Rhodes, member of the Washington Map Society Board of Directors and author of an article on Monteith in the latest issue of Cartographic Perspectives. The title of his presentation is James Monteith: Cartographer, Educator, and Master of the Margins.

Fall Issue of the Portolan Now Available

Peter Porrazzo — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 12:26:29 GMT

Portolan Issue #111 has just been published and is now available on this website to members. Check out the Table of Contents here.

Matthew Gilmore Lecture Now Available in Members Area

Eliane Dotson — Sun, 23 May 2021 16:00:00 GMT

The video of the WMS member meeting on May 17, 2021 is now available to view in the Members Area. The meeting was presented in partnership with the Boston, California, Chicago, New York, Rocky Mountain, Texas, and the Library of Congress' Philip Lee Phillips Societies. The guest speaker was Matthew Gilmore, a WMS member, author, speaker, columnist and blogger. The title of his presentation is Tilting Washington's National Mall.

Continuation of Zoom Meetings though 2021

Eliane Dotson — Sun, 02 May 2021 01:59:00 GMT

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the WMS shifted its in-person meetings to online, Zoom meetings. The Board of Directors of the WMS has voted to continue all WMS meetings via Zoom through the end of 2021, at which point the board will reassess the safety and viability of holding in-person meetings for 2022.

Tips on Navigating our New Website

Peter Porrazzo — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 13:01:41 GMT

WMS has had a website that has served it very well for many years, thanks to the dedication and skill of its webmaster Leigh Lockwood, a member and volunteer. Changes in technology presented the need and opportunity to update the website .... please enjoy the new WMS website and let us know what you think.

You can access every page on the website via the top menu and the drop-down sub-menus, and the top menu will be visible on every page of the site.

There are many links on this website to internal and external resources. When you "click" on a link that is to a page on the website, it will open in the same browser window. If the link is to a document or to another website, it will open in a separate browser window.

WMS members will find many resources within the "Members Area," including access to issues of The Portolan, meeting videos, their member profile, a membership directory, and membership renewal.

If you have questions about how to navigate this site, use various features, or have general questions, please email Eliane Dotson at webmaster@wmsdc.org.