A Collection of Geographical Maps in Gazi Husrev-beg’s Library

Abstract

Besides a multitude and great quantity of the archival material, the richness of Gazi Husrev-beg’s Library is reflected in a large number of geographical maps in different languages and from different time periods. The collection contains a significant number of topographical, thematic, straightforward and hand-drawn maps. This paper aims at presenting a collection of geographical maps, thus making information about this hitherto unknown collection available to research workers. While carrying out an analysis of geographical maps, the basic data was collected and listed (i.e. the publisher, the year and the place of map publishing- if there was such information on the map), and a brief desription was given by means of reading geographical signs. The geographical maps date back to different time periods, and most of them date back to the Austro-Hungarian period, starting from 1827, and also to the 20th century, the period of the SHS Kingdom (the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes) and Yugoslavia. There are also recent maps, to be sure, printed in the 21st century. The maps were made in different languages, and those maps that were made in Ottoman-Turkish and Arabic occupy a special place, as well as the maps in Latin which date back to different time periods. In September 2019, the Library got as a gift a large number of maps from a private collection owned by Professor Ibrahim Bušatlija, God rest his soul. The maps were examined and registered in the database of the Library’s stock of materials. The collection also includes three globes, two of which were made by hand.