The collection includes both manuscript maps and decorative engraved maps, and nautical charts relating to Africa, southern Africa and South Africa. They provide a fascinating insight into the cartography of the African continent and into travel, exploration and the growth of geographic knowledge in this period.
Many of the printed maps are hand-coloured and produced in the first half of the 17th century, a period often considered the pinnacle of decorative map-making. Highlights of the collection are a 1507 woodcut map of Africa, the earliest known printed map devoted to the representation of the African continent and a manuscript map drawn on silk, relating to David Livingstone.
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