Magnificent Maps: Power, Propaganda and Art April 29, 2010

* 100 greatest maps in the world to go on display in the British Library's major summer exhibition

* Rare opportunity to see spectacular wall maps, over three-quarters of which are being exhibited for the first time

* Cartographic masterpieces on paper, wood, vellum, silver, silk and marble including atlases, maps, globes and tapestries, as they've never been seen before

Maps can be works of art, propaganda and indoctrination. Magnificent Maps: Power, Propaganda and Art offers a rare chance to see an unrivalled collection of cartographic masterpieces that were intended for display side-by-side with the world's greatest paintings and sculptures.

Drawn from the 4½ million items held in the British Library's cartographic collections - the greatest map collection in the world - this new exhibition will showcase over 80 of the most impressive wall-maps ever created, dating from 200AD to the present day, most of which have never been seen before.

Recreating the settings in which they would have originally been seen - from the palace to the schoolroom, the exhibition reveals how maps express an enormous variety of differing world views, using size and beauty to convey messages of status and power. See: www.bl.uk/magnificentmaps.

Monday 09.30-18.00, Tuesday 09.30-20.00, Wednesday-Friday 09.30-18.00, Saturday 09.30-17.00, Sunday and English public holidays 11.00-17.00.