10 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST Duncan MacRae Payne ’63, an international relations major, loved traveling and history—passions he merged by collecting maps. When Payne died in 2021, he bequeathed some of his most important atlases to Lehigh University Libraries Special Collections. The atlases are on display for the first time as part of an exhibit in Linderman Library. “Where Do We Go From Here? Maps and Atlases from the Duncan Payne and Lehigh Libraries Collections” will continue through the Fall 2023 semester. The intricate hand-colored maps, some dating to 1575, depict the geography of the world at the time and reveal the politics, social norms and mythology people believed in. “Maps were so important and near and dear to him, and so was Lehigh,” said Payne’s daughter Eliane Dotson, co-owner of Old World Auctions in Richmond, Virginia. “He wanted Lehigh to be able to start an amazing collection as well as for the students there to have access to this type of historical artifact.” Payne also made other gifts to Lehigh, including support for financial aid and scholarships. Payne was drawn to European mapmakers from the 16th to 18th centuries, with an emphasis on French cartographers. His donations from preeminent mapmakers include a 1587 edition of Abraham Ortelius’ “Theatrum Orbis Terrarum,” four volumes of Braun & Hogenberg’s “Civitates Orbis Terrarum” and Alexis de Tocqueville’s “De la Democratie en Amerique.” “Exhibit visitors will have the opportunity to understand how faculty across the curriculum, from art to archaeology to astronomy, are teaching students about the research value of historical maps,” said Lois Black, director of Library Special Collections. The exhibit includes unique hand-colored maps in Linderman Library and reproductions of 30 city views from Braun’s atlases in E.W. Fairchild-Martindale Library. Students’ education will be enriched by working with the atlases gifted by Payne, said University Librarian Boaz Nadav-Manes. Students can gain an understanding of how early cartographers, explorers and engineers worked. “Awareness of who we are and where we are headed, both in spirit and in the space we possess, is an CHRISTA NEU SPECIAL COLLECTIONS | ALUMNI ʼ63 A Love of Maps and a Legacy A new exhibit in Linderman Library includes maps dating back to the 16th through 18th centuries. Duncan MacRae Payne ’63
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