The Rare Map Collections

The Phanor J. Eder Collection

Phanor James Eder, a well known international attorney, donated a large number of books, pamphlets, personal papers, magazine articles, and maps to the library in 1960. His family had settled in the Cauca Valley, Colombia, and Eder was born in Palmira in 1880. After graduation from Harvard Law School, Eder specialized in international law with a special interest in Latin America. He was author and translator of books and articles dealing principally with legal and financial matters.

Eder's interests are reflected in his collection of 62 maps which focus on Latin American subjects such as a plan of the city of Cali, a map published in 1857 representing the line of the Panama railroad, and several maps depicting grain and cattle production in Mexico and Central America. Specific maps include: "Terra Firma et novum regnum Granatense et Popayan," by Arnoldus Montanus, Amsterdam, 1671; and "Mapa del Departamento de Antioquia, Repuacuteblica de Colombia ...," Washington, Norris Peters Photo-Litho, 1900.