In 1880 the library and map collection of the young Dutch Geographical Society  were entrusted to the care of the Amsterdam University Library. Just before the First World War the collection was expanded considerably with the purchase of a complete, richly varied collection of atlas maps from the 16th to the 18th centuries.
But over the years, particularly thanks to donations and exchange, there emerged a collection now comprising almost 135,000 maps and 4.500 atlases, early and modern ones, which are used, studied and admired from many angles.