DEPARTMENT OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH. 155 



During the year Dr. James A. Robertson has finished his work upon 

 that section of the Atlas devoted to reproductions of old maps, intended 

 to exhibit the progress of geographical knowledge respecting America, 

 the progressive opening up of the Continent by European and later 

 by American explorers. The processes which he has carried through 

 are those of examination and comparison of maps, determination of 

 those which are most useful for the purpose in hand and most suitable 

 for reproduction in such a book, arrangement of the maps on the series 

 of plates, and composition of the letter-press. The maps selected 

 will exhibit the development of knowledge of the Pacific as well as of 

 the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, and likewise the progress of knowledge 

 respecting the interior of the Continent. The letter-press will make 

 plain the relation of one map to another, the significance of individual 

 maps and the reason for their adoption into the series, and the history 

 of the originals, of which photographic reproductions will be presented. 

 In the selection, Dr. Robertson has had the benefit of advice from Dr. 

 Edward L. Stevenson, secretary of the Hispanic Society of America, 

 whose competence in all matters of early cartography is well known. 

 Dr. Stevenson has also kindly permitted the use of two photographs 

 from his own very remarkable reproductions of early maps, in cases 

 in which a fresh photographing of the originals would now be attended 

 with difficulties probably insuperable. 



During the year reported upon Mr. Luis Marino Perez, hbrarian 

 of the House of Representatives of Cuba, and author of the Institution's 

 "Guide to the Materials for American History in Cuban Archives," 

 has completed and delivered the manuscript of his report upon the 

 archives of the colony of Jamaica. The archives are shown to be 

 important and valuable for American history, to a degree beyond 

 what had heretofore been known, though damaged and disordered by 

 earthquakes and other mishaps. This report is intended to be com- 

 bined with similar surveys of the Lesser British Antilles, in a general 

 volume on the West Indian archives. 



In view of the fact that the island archives have suffered much from 

 hurricanes and various other incidents of a tropical chmate, many 

 series in these archives are imperfect, and require to be completed by 

 consultation of the corresponding series of transcripts which, under 

 the colonial system of Great Britain, were required to be transmitted 

 from the colonies to the central office of administration in London. 

 Therefore anyone who wishes to present a general guide to the British 

 West Indian materials for the history of the British Empire in America 

 must combine in one view the appropriate portions of the archives of 

 the individual islands. Accordingly it was thought, a year ago, that, 

 though conditions attendant upon the existence of war made it inex- 



