Aerial photographs

The collection consists of 2 746 photographs taken in the 1950s and even up to the year 2000, which primarily show the surface of Puebla. The material available here is attributed to the Sistema Nacional de Fotografía Aérea (SINFA, National Aerial Photography System of the INEGI), Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), Compañía Mexicana Aerofoto (Mexican Aerial photograph Enterprise), Fotogramétrica Catastral (Cadastral Photogrammetric), Sistemas de Información Geográfica (GIS, 2000), and the General Office of the State of Morelos of the Secretaría de Recursos Hidráulicos (SRH, Secretariat of Hydraulic Resources). Furthermore, there are plenty of copies from the Dirección de Estudios del Territorio Nacional (Detenal, Directorate of National Territory Studies) captured in the 1970s. These photographs have been essential for obtaining topographic maps of natural resources because they are a “faithful representation of the area at the time of the exhibition”^{1 (INEGI, 2005, p. 2)} (Figure 3).

(Photographs: Yaselda Chavarin Pineda, 2023; courtesy: Archive from the Mapoteca Jorge A. Vivó, 2023)

Figure 3 SINFA-INEGI aerial photographs, Puebla, E14B43, 1993; a) Ciudad Universitaria area and b) downtown Puebla. 

Plans and charts of Puebla and its surroundings

This collection consists of 554 documents, ranging from the year 1650 to the 1990s. On the one hand, some of the most important maps record the changes that have occurred throughout the history and development of the city of Puebla; on the other hand, the most consulted documents in the entire collection are the city plans from the years 1917, 1923, 1931 (Figure 4) and 1936 due to their scale, details, and antiquity. Furthermore, in the cartographic laboratory, a series of important thematic maps of the city were elaborated in 1984 (Figure 5). These maps present the types of industrial spaces, urban transport system, communal land zones (tierras ejidales), production processes, among others.

(Photograph: Yaselda Chavarin Pineda, 2023; courtesy: Mapoteca Jorge A. Vivó, 2023)

Figure 4 General Chart from the city of Puebla, Armando Macedo, 1931. 

(Photograph: Yaselda Chavarin Pineda, 2023; courtesy: Mapoteca Jorge A. Vivó, 2023)

Figure 5 Thematic map of the city of Puebla. Production processes of urbanized space, BUAP Cartographic Laboratory, 1984. 

Charts of the Geographical and Exploring Commission

From the collection of charts of the Comisión Geográfico-Exploradora (Geographical and Exploring Commission), we can find 137 pieces of the Mexican Republic general chart (Figure 6). It was created in 1877 by order of the then President Porfirio Díaz, who, alongside with the Minister of Development, Vicente Riva Palacio, agreed on the importance of exploring, measuring, and mapping the territory to consolidate the government, defend against foreign invasions, and promote the economic development ^{(Craib, 2013, pp. 163-164)}.

(Photographs: Yaselda Chavarin Pineda, 2023; courtesy: Archive from the Mapoteca Jorge A. Vivó, 2023)

Figure 6 General topographical chart of the surroundings of Puebla, Geographical-Exploring Commission, 1884.  

INEGI charts

The collection of INEGI charts is the most extensive in the collection, with around 10 000 pieces. As a higher education institution, the MJAV is ascribed to the external consultation network of INEGI and, since the beginning of its operation, it has safeguarded the cartographic and bibliographic materials of said institute, in addition to the documents produced by the Secretaría de Programación y Presupuesto (SPP, Programming and Budget Secretariat) and the Comisión de Estudios del Territorio Nacional (Cetenal, Studies Commission of the National Territory). Up to this day, INEGI maintains an agreement with the MAJV with the purpose of sharing its information with the entire population (Figure 7). Moreover, a monthly consultation report is delivered, both physically on the maps, and online, on the resources of said institute.

(Photographs: Yaselda Chavarin Pineda, 2023; courtesy: Mapoteca Jorge A. Vivó, 2023)

Figure 7 a) Topographic map of the municipality of Huejotzingo, Puebla, INEGI, 2011; b) pedological chart of Puebla, Puebla, INEGI, 1982. 

Old maps

This collection consists of 32 large-format maps. From these, three general charts stand out: the first is the one about the Mexican Republic, from 1894, elaborated by the Ministerio de Fomento (Ministry of Development); the second one is of the state of Puebla, from 1908, by the Geographical-Exploring Commission; and the third one is from the communication routes of the United Mexican States, from 1907, edited by Alfredo A. Jiménez, as well as other charts of various parts of the world, such as Africa and Europe. This is of special significance for historical studies since old maps are important elements in the investigation of the area and territory.

Relief maps and Braille code

The MJAV also possess a collection of 38 relief maps and 8 in Spanish Braille code, created by INEGI on plastic support. Elaborated between 2012 and 2013, these maps show different characteristics on a national scale, such as types of vegetation, climates, and types of soil, among others. They constitute an important didactic tool for blind and visually impaired people to gain knowledge about the geographical information of the national territory. Although the number of users is very limited because few people know of the existence of these materials, it is planned to spread information about them through guided tours to increase interaction with these maps and the use of the documents.

National Geographic International Map Collection and Atlases Collection

The Map Library possess 11 atlases of Mexico, including atlases of roads and streets, geographic, agricultural and one climatological, from 1926, among others. In reference to world atlases, there are 22 from various places, such as the United States, Brazil, and Cuba, and some universal ones that cover the 20^th century. The National Geographic Collection, with its 69 maps, stands out because of the ones from the regions of the United States, North America, and Latin America. In addition, there is a map of China from 1945, made of a fabric support in good preserved condition, and which stands out from the rest of the maps that are made only of paper, such as the documents from the 1960s and 1970s from Europe, Africa, Asia, and Antarctica.