Boston Rare Maps

Specializing in antique American maps & prints

Recent acquisitions

The Great Probability of a Northwest Passage

First edition of this important 1768 English analysis of existing textual and cartographic source materials relating to the possible existence of a Northwest Passage through Arctic Canada to the Pacific. Much of the driving force for the search for the Northwest Passage in the mid-18th century came from Arthur Dobbs (1689-1765). Dobbs became obsessed with […]

Wonderful 1826 world map by a Hingham, Mass. schoolgirl

An attractive and unusually large manuscript world map by a Hingham, Massachusetts schoolgirl. The map is projected on a double hemisphere, with the continents in very appealing pastel wash and outline color and major topographical and riverine features delicately delineated. The map is dated 1826, but the geography reflects a late 18th century world view, […]

The first White Mountains map?

One of the first printed maps—along with Franklin Leavitt’s of the same year—to focus on the Lakes and White Mountains regions of New Hampshire. This scarce map depicts the region at a very large scale, depicting county and town boundaries, as well as those of public and ungranted lands. Coverage extends from Portsmouth and […]

Monumental chart of Chesapeake Bay by George Eldridge

A mammoth George Eldridge chart depicting in detail the waters of Chesapeake Bay and its tributary rivers, most notably the James, York, Rappahannock, the Potomac (extending upstream to Washington, D.C.) and the Patuxent (to Baltimore). An inset at upper right, probably added for the 1888 edition, extends the coverage to Havre de Grace, Maryland. Thousands […]

Extremely rare chart of Transatlantic submarine cables owned by the Commercial Cable Company

An extremely rare navigation chart highlighting the locations of the Transatlantic telegraph cables operated by the Commercial Cable Company (aka Mackay-Bennett), published in 1886 for distribution to fishing vessels. In the early 1880s Western Union, controlled by Jay Gould, was the dominant player in the Transatlantic telegraph business, a position it gained by leasing existing […]

An extraordinary but mysterious Shaker image

A remarkable Shaker image from 1887, apparently designed as an educational tool to help arrest the decline of the Shaker community. The chart features a timeline of major Biblical figures and ancient empires; genealogical charts for the descendants of Adam and Eve, Noah, King David, Herod and others; charts listing the miracles and parables of […]

Mammoth historical map of the United States by educator Eugenia Almira Wheeler Goff

A mammoth, unusual and very rare historical wall map by educator, author, mapmaker and publisher Eugenia Almira Wheeler Goff of Minnesota. Goff’s map depicts the United States as far west as the Great Plains, including all or part of the Dakota Territory, Kansas, Indian Territory and Texas. The map’s enormous size—roughly five feet square—enables her […]

Visionary 1907 plan of Long Beach New York

A most attractive and very rare 1907 promotional plan revealing real estate magnate William H. Reynolds’ typically grandiose vision for the future city of Long Beach, New York. Born poor in 1868, at 18 Reynolds went into business as a builder and real estate broker, “having accumulated capital of $200 by obtaining a 2 per […]

Visitor’s Kit for arrivals at Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport at the height of the Cold War

A fascinating Cold War relic blending Western propaganda and mundane tourist information, for distribution to new arrivals at West Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport in or around 1966. The Visitor’s Kit comprises a mimeographed welcome letter from Thomas A. Personett, Colonel, Commander USAF Berlin; two booklets, one recounting the recent history of Berlin as a contest for […]

Unrecorded ca. 1967 map of Da Nang, Vietnam, annotated by hand by an American serviceman before and possibly during the Tet Offensive

An unrecorded ca. 1967 III Marine Amphibious Force Drafting Section whiteprint map of Da Nang, Vietnam and its vicinity featuring manuscript notations referencing attacks on American bases before and during the Tet Offensive. U.S. Military installations in and around Da Nang The map depicts the region from Lienchou Bay to the South China Sea and […]

Rare 18th-century paper instrument with an unusual flat earth projection

A rare and unusual instrument, featuring a volvelle with a distinctive flat earth projection of the world. One of only three examples located. The instrument consists of a large engraved diagram mounted on a heavy pasteboard backing, as issued. The central feature of the diagram is a map of the world projected on a single […]

Unique paste-up map of the French Department of Morbihan

A unique composition, being a pasted-up composite map of the département of Morbihan, France. The body of the map has been cut from Dezauche’s 1800 Carte itinéraire de la Bretagne, then squared off with a mix of printed and manuscript borders, with the map area outside the department infilled in manuscript. The map, the key […]

A remarkable work of educational folk art

A unique and utterly charming early 19th-century manuscript visual compendium, combining cartography and natural history and most likely executed for classroom or tutorial use. The composition features a central map of Europe, likely based on one from Johannes Walch’s Allgemeiner Atlas, first issued in 1803. The map is surrounded by a plethora of finely-detailed vignettes: portraits […]

Plan of a prison influenced by Bentham’s Panopticon

Fascinating 19th-century manuscript architectural plan of a Wiltshire prison on a revolutionary design, owing a debt to Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon. Devizes Prison (properly Devizes County House of Corrections or colloquially “New Bridewell”) was designed by Richard Ingleman (1777-1838). Construction was completed in 1817, and the facility remained in use until being closed and demolished in […]

Early manuscript rendering of the Madaba Map of the Holy Land

A rare and lovely manuscript based on the famed Madaba Map. One of the most spectacular cartographic relics of the ancient world, this enormous sixth-century mosaic floor map includes the earliest extant map of the Holy Land. Created in the late seventh century, the mammoth mosaic of the Middle East now known as the Madaba Map […]

Rare geographic game by Charles Watilliaux

A very rare and educational geographic game by prolific publisher Charles Watilliaux inspired by Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days. With very high production values and remarkably complete and well preserved. The game consists of eight itineraries for voyages around the world, the first of which replicates that of Verne’s novel. All start […]

Kaiser Wilhelm as a madman

A vivid and all-but unrecorded French pictorial map attacking Kaiser Wilhelm early in the First World War. Illustrator Delaye depicts the Kaiser in a pose reminiscent of Frankenstein, lurching toward western Europe with his hands outstretched, dripping blood, while his right boot reaches toward the French possessions in North Africa. A bright-red Germany serves as […]

Decorative map of southern Africa in the late Colonial era

A large, decorative and enthusiastic 1941 map of southern Africa, reflecting both the sensibilities and the hard political realities of the late-Colonial era. The map depicts Africa below 1° north latitude, with territories color-coded according to the colonizing or controlling European power—pink for the Union of South Africa and Rhodesia; green for Portuguese Mozambique and […]

Amputations from the Churchillian octopus

An iconic propaganda poster, published in German-occupied France and depicting Churchill as a badly-wounded octopus. Confiance was intended to undermine support for both the British and Free French forces in the early years of the Second World War. It features possibly the ugliest octopus ever rendered in print, bearing the face of Winston Churchill rendered […]

Unique surviving wall map used by the Slovene Partisan High Command

Thought to be the only known surviving complete example of a wall map made exclusively for the use of the Slovene Partisan High Command during the Second World War. From the estate of the Partisan general and war hero Ivan Maček. The map depicts the numerous Partisan military divisions across Slovenia and the eastern part […]