Kenneth Nebenzahl (September 16, 1927 – January 29, 2020) was an internationally known antiquarian book- and mapseller, author, and supporter and benefactor of the field of the history of cartography.

Career

After serving in the U.S. Marines during World War II Nebenzahl attended

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and then worked as a salesman for the Paul Masson Winery in Ohio and New Orleans. He married Jocelyn (Jossy) Spitz in 1953. The couple moved to

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and established ‘Kenneth Nebenzahl, Inc.' as an antiquarian book company specializing in rare maps. His catalogs were titled ''Compass for Map Collectors'' and ''The Print Collector.'' He also worked with libraries to develop map collections, notably the Newberry Library in Chicago. Nebenzahl served on the boards of the Newberry Library, the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, the

Adler Planetarium The Adler Planetarium is a public museum in Chicago, Illinois, dedicated to astronomy and astrophysics. It was founded in 1930 by local businessman Max Adler. Located on the northeastern tip of Northerly Island on Lake Michigan, the Adler Planet ...

, and the

Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA) is an organization in the United States for dealers in rare and antiquarian books. The association is a member of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB). History Fo ...

. He was a charter member of the Chicago Map Society. He served on the Steering Committee of the Philip Lee Phillips Map Society of

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

which supports the mission of the Geography and Map Division. He served on the board of Imago Mundi: International Journal for the History of Cartography, from 1978-2020.

Nebenzahl Lectures

In 1965 Nebenzahl and his wife, Jossy, established a fund to support a series of lectures in the History of Cartography at the Newberry Library named for their late son. The first Kenneth Nebenzahl Jr. Lectures in the History of Cartography were presented in 1966 by the Keeper of the Map Room at the British Library, R. A. Skelton. The

University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the university press of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It pu ...

publishes The Kenneth Nebenzahl Jr. Lectures in the History of Cartography. These include: *''Decolonizing the Map : Cartography from Colony to Nation.'' * ''Ancient Perspectives : Maps and Their Place in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece & Rome.'' *''The Imperial Map : Cartography and the Mastery of Empire.'' * ''Art and Cartography : Six Historical Essays.'' *''Maps: A Historical Survey of Their Study and Collecting.''Skelton, R. A., and Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography. 1972. ''Maps: A Historical Survey of Their Study and Collecting.'' Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Publications

*Nebenzahl, Kenneth. "A Stone Thrown at the Map Maker." ''The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America'' 55, no. 4 (1961): 283-288. *Nebenzahl, Kenneth. ''Atlas of the American Revolution.'' Edited by Kenneth . Chicago: Rand Mc Nally. 1974 *Nebenzahl, Kenneth, and Mazal Holocaust Collection. 1986. ''Maps of the Holy Land : Images of Terra Sancta through Two Millennia.'' New York: Abbeville Press. *Nebenzahl, Kenneth, and Rand McNally and Company. 1990. ''Atlas of Columbus and the Great Discoveries.'' Chicago: Rand McNally. *Nebenzahl, Kenneth. 2004. ''Mapping the Silk Road and beyond : 2,000 Years of Exploring the East.'' London: Phaidon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nebenzahl, Kenneth 1927 births 2020 deaths Cartographers Antiquarian booksellers Map collections Lecture series