This collection is one of the most complete in its kind.It is most comprehensive concerning the oldest printed cartographic atlases, geographical works and travel literature, collected by the founder of the history of cartography, Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld (1832-1901, born in Finland, died in Sweden), who was also the explorer of the NorthEast Passage and the Nordic Regions. The Collection is especially rich in early history of cartography, printed Ptolemaic Atlases, sea atlases and incunabulas. It contains about 5,000 volumes covering the knowledge of the expansion of the known world from the Antiquity to Modern Times.