Maps have been in existence for thousands of years and as well as
being very beautiful and containing as many, if not more, intricacies
than great works of art, they have long been objects of fascination.
Not only do they provide a wealth of geographic, historical, social,
economic and political information about an area or country as
well as record other changes to our environment, but through them
we can learn about the development and skill of mapmaking itself.

The Priaulx Library has a rich treasury of maps of Guernsey which
has been greatly enhanced by the addition of a number of charts from
the Guille-Allès Library collection. The aim of this exhibition is to
trace the growth and cartographical development of the island over the
past 800 years. Each map is a slice of history which tells its own story
of the island, detailing its growth from obscurity through developing
community and major nautical stronghold to what it is today.

We are fortunate to possess such an important collection of maps of
Guernsey and we are excited at being, for the first time, able to show
them at the ‘Guernsey on the Map’ exhibition. I hope you enjoy
viewing the fascinating display.

Liz Harris
Chief Librarian