Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps Collection

This collection includes several fire insurance maps made by the Sanborn Map Company. 46 volumes of the maps are for New Orleans and cover 1876–1940s (updated through the 1960s). The two volumes for 1876 are the earliest Sanborns for New Orleans, and the only known copies. There are also 24 volumes for other cities in Louisiana and 14 volumes for cities in Mississippi. Maps show individual blocks in cities, and include buildings on each property. Buildings are color coded to indicate materials of which they are constructed. Symbols and notes provide additional information. Maps are drawn to a large scale showing buildings in considerable detail. Many volumes were updated using pasted corrections. Date corrections were made to volumes is indicated at the beginning of each volume, though individual corrections are not dated on each sheet.

Black-and-white digital versions are available online through Tulane campus computers. In 2017, the Library of Congress released color digital versions of pre-1900 Sanborns. SEAA’s 1876 Sanborns were digitized in the same year and are available through the Tulane University Digital Library. Researchers are encouraged to utilize the online maps before consulting the physical copies in SEAA.