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Walter William Ristow Papers

 Collection
Identifier: MSS N

Scope and Contents

The Walter W. Ristow collection consists of articles written by Ristow during his career as a map librarian. They are arranged alphabetically by title.

Dates

  • 1933-1985

Creator

Access to Materials

Materials in this collection are available for patron use.

Biographical Note

Walter W. Ristow was born in La Crosse in 1908. He received a bachelor’s degree in geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1931 and a master’s degree from Oberlin. After completing his doctoral studies in 1937, Ristow was named chief of the map division of the New York City Library. During World War II he also worked for the U.S. Military Intelligence preparing geographical information for air strikes in the Far East. Ristow was employed by the Library of Congress in 1946 and was made Chief of the Map Division in 1968. He retired in 1977. During his career Ristow wrote many articles on map librarianship and the history of maps and mapmaking.

Extent

1 cubic_foot

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Ristow was named head of New York Public Library’s map division in 1937 and served for nine years. In 1946 he began working at Library of Congress and was named chief of the map division in 1968. Ristow was born and raised in La Crosse, Wis., but spent most his adult life in the eastern United States.

This collection consists of articles, 1933-1985, written by Walter W. Ristow, on the subjects of map librarianship and the history of maps and mapmaking. The articles are arranged alphabetically by title.

Acquisitions Information

Donated by Walter W. Ristow, October 1985, and Harold Ristow, October 1985

(Accession Nos. 1985.011, 1985.013)

Physical Description

3 archives boxes

OCLC Number

28417004

Processing Information

Processed by Amy Groskopf, October 1985

Title
Guide to the Walter William Ristow Papers
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by Amy Groskopf, October 1985
Date
1985 October
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the La Crosse Public Library Archives Repository

Contact:
800 Main St.
La Crosse Wisconsin 54601
(608) 789-7136