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Alvin J. Johnson was a publisher of maps and atlases from 1854-1887, under the names A.J. Johnson, Johnson and Browning and Johnson and Ward. His Atlases and the maps of the various states in the United States have become collectible and are avidly sought by collectors and historians alike. Many state maps have been removed from Johnson's Family World Atlases and are collected in this form by collectors. The Johnson U.S. Map Project has created a data set of the changes in Johnson's U.S. and state maps which will allow the user of this website to definitively date the publication of any loose map from these atlases. We also present historical essays on the life of Johnson and his atlases and his relationship with other 19th Century American Atlas publishers, J.H. Colton and Augustus Mitchell.

The Johnson U.S. Map Project represents the work of Dr. Ira S. Lourie. He is a child psychiatrist who has been an avid map collector since 1978 and whose mapping related interests include both the maps of Maryland and the atlases of Alvin J. Johnson. He has presented his work on Johnson and his atlases to the Washington Map Society and has been published in the Map Society’s journal, the Portolan. Dr. Lourie is the sole owner of the Johnson U.S. Map Project database and website. In 2020 Dr. Lourie graciously donated his collection to the Washington County Free Library.

Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867-1970 provides access to more than 660,000 large-scale maps for more than 12,000 American towns and cities. Sanborn fire insurance maps are the most frequently consulted maps in libraries, and are valuable historical tools. In electronic form, Sanborn maps allow users to easily manipulate the maps, magnify and zoom in on specific sections, and layer maps from different years.

Resource guide: Fire Insurance Map Research Guide