An Atlas of Historic New Mexico Maps, 1550–1941

Eidenbach has compiled a collection of New Mexico’s historic maps, navigating through a varied terrain of research and discovery, even securing permissions for colonial-era maps held in special collections with limited public access. This collection, featuring beautifully rendered diagrams of New Mexico’s landscape, allows exploration of the past as seen by that past’s inhabitants.

Strange as it may seem from our modern American perspective, New Mexico was literally a foreign country until the middle of the nineteenth century and, as field archaeologist and history instructor Peter Eidenbach discovered, in the minds of some it still is. The New Mexico landscape is easy to get lost in and much of its terrain has not been fully explored in many years. Yet, the state holds a rich cartographic history not often recognised by the many people who daily interact with its topography. Approaching this gap as a teacher and enthusiast, Eidenbach set about compiling a collection of New Mexico’s historic maps, navigating through a varied terrain of research and discovery, even securing permissions for colonial-era maps held in special collections with limited public access. This collection, featuring beautifully rendered diagrams of New Mexico’s landscape, allows exploration of the past as seen by that past’s inhabitants.