Boston Rare Maps

Specializing in antique American maps & prints

Recent acquisitions

First obtainable printing of this influential map of the New Netherlands, with the iconic view of Manhattan

The earliest obtainable state of Visscher’s important promotional map of the New Netherlands and New England, composed for the Dutch West India Company. Also sought after for its fine inset prospect of Manhattan, the earliest obtainable view of what became New York City. Background Dutch interest in the region began with the formation of the […]

Boston on the brink of Revolution, from The Universal Magazine

Detailed plan of Boston and a chart of Boston Harbor, issued during the runup to the American Revolution. The plan shows the street plan and street names, landmarks such as Boston Common (with the Powder House and Liberty Tree), the Mill Dam and Long Wharf, and several batteries and fortifications ringing the town. The plan […]

Revolutionary War Philadelphia for a German audience

An uncommon and most attractive German map of Revolutionary-era Philadelphia and its immediate environs, published the year the city was captured by the British Army under General Howe. The Continental Congress had first met at Philadelphia in 1774 and continued to meet there during the early years of the American Revolution, until the city was […]

Manuscript casualty list from the USS Chesapeake’s 1813 encounter with the HMS Shannon, by the Chesapeake’s purser

The original manuscript record of the casualties on the USS Chesapeake during her June 1, 1813 defeat by the HMS Shannon. Compiled on the day of the battle and updating over the next several days. Following a challenge issued by British Captain Philip Broke, the USS Chesapeake, under Captain James Lawrence, met the HMS Shannon in a single-battle off […]

Manuscript signal book of the USS Chesapeake, captured by the HMS Shannon and retained as a memento by a prominent British officer

An extremely rare War of 1812-era manuscript signal book from the USS Chesapeake, captured when the Chesapeake was taken by the HMS Shannon on June 1, 1813. Following a challenge issued by British Captain Philip Broke, the USS Chesapeake, under Captain James Lawrence, met the HMS Shannon in a single-battle off Boston on June 1, […]

Rare 1844 American edition of the Game of the Star Spangled Banner

One of the earliest published American cartographic games and one of the earliest American pictorial maps, based on one of the same title published in London by Edward Wallis. This fine pictorial map covers the eastern United States and Canada, the limits as then existed, from the northern shore of Lake Superior to the tip […]

Spectacular Old Colony Railroad broadside touting service to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket

A spectacular and previously-unknown late 19th-century broadside touting Old Colony Railroad and Old Colony Steamship Company service to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. The Old Colony Railroad is not mentioned on this broadside, but the content points directly to that firm, as it dominated transportation in southeastern Massachusetts for much of the 19th century. Established in […]

Lovely tourist map of Berkshire County Massachusetts

A most appealing 1883 promotional map of the Famous Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, one of New England’s great destinations for its combination of natural beauty and cultural attractions. The map offers a very detailed view of Berkshire County, including its towns and their boundaries, topographical features, and roads and railroads, with symbols identifying school […]

Extraordinarily rare 1892 flat Earth map by Alexander Gleason

Only the fourth known example of Alexander Gleason’s 1892 New Standard Map of the World, an important example of the migration of flat Earth thought from England to the United States. At first look Gleason’s map is visually striking but otherwise innocuous: a north-polar azimuthal equidistant projection, enlivened by a bright-red horizon ring, with two […]

Rare allotment map of the Rosebud Reservation and Gregory County South Dakota

Scarce map promoting lands for sale in Gregory County, South Dakota, including portions of the Rosebud Reservation following their sale to the U.S. Government in 1901. Gregory County is shown bounded in the east by the Missouri River, in the south by Nebraska, in the north by Lyman County and in the west by the […]

First edition of the AMC’s Guide to the Paths and Camps in the White Mountains (1907)

The first edition of the Appalachian Mountain Club’s first comprehensive guide to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, a landmark in American mountaineering. Rare, and in very nice condition for a book intended for hard use in the field. The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) was founded in 1876 with the mission of exploring the White […]

Unrecorded George H. Walker view of New Hampshire’s Canobie Lake Park

A lovely and unrecorded early 20th-century chromolithographic bird’s-eye view of Canobie Lake Park in Salem, New Hampshire. The view depicts the Park as seen from an imaginary vantage point to the north, with Canobie Lake in the middle ground and the cities of the Merrimack Valley in the far distance. Though a roller coaster is […]

A 50-foot map of the shifting channels of the Lower Mississippi River

A mammoth and very rare set of thematic maps depicting historical changes in the channels of the Mississippi River, issued in 1941 by the Mississippi River Commission. Background Those living on the banks of the Mississippi have always been blessed by its fertile alluvial plain and ready water access to much of the American interior […]

Original aerial recon photograph of Iwo Jima, from just before the invasion

An amazing visual artifact from the Second World War, being an aerial reconnaissance photograph of Iwo Jima island stamped January 12, 1945, thus documenting the savage pre-invasion bombardment of the island. The image This rare aerial reconnaissance photograph covers several square miles of the northern end of Iwo Jima, with breakers along the beaches clearly visible at […]

Original aerial recon photograph of Iwo Jima, taken during the battle

A rare and fascinating visual artifact from World War II, being a wartime aerial reconnaissance photograph of Iwo Jima stamped March 8, 1945, thus documenting part of the island while the American invasion was fully underway. The photograph This rare aerial reconnaissance photograph shows the area around Kitano Point, at the northern end of the island, with breakers […]

Private: A mammoth cartographic compendium of African-American history

Monumental and extremely rare maps of African-American history designed in the early 1970s for classroom use. Published in Detroit in or around 1970, the maps are very much of the era, both recognizing the brutal reality of the forced emigration and enslavement of Africans and celebrating their eventual contributions to the culture, economy and politics […]

An imaginary map of Planet Internet, from MacUser magazine

A 1996 imaginary map of the Internet, provided as a bonus for purchasers of MacUser magazine and with a decided emphasis on the Apple ecosystem. The map features four major continents, “Human Endeavors,” “Institutions,” “Commerce,” and “Apple”, all surrounded by the “Sea of Resources.” Each continent contains a number of subcategories, which I suppose might […]