Boston Rare MapsSpecializing in antique American maps & prints
A scarce and interesting 1793 chart depicting the Gulf Stream, as well as thermometric observations of the Atlantic made on several trans-Atlantic voyages by Jonathan Williams, Jr. A grand-nephew of Benjamin Franklin, Williams (1750-1815) served as his personal secretary during Franklin’s time as American agent in England in the early 1770s and as ambassador to […]
![Lewis Evans / Benjamin Franklin (printer) / James Turner (engraver), A general MAP of the MIDDLE BRITISH COLONIES, in AMERICA; Viz VIRGINIA, MARILAND, DELAWARE, PENSILVANIA, NEW-JERSEY, NEW-YORK, CONNECTICUT, and RHODE ISLAND: Of AQUANISHUONÎGY, the Country of the Confederate Indians; … By Lewis Evans. 1755. [Bound in:] Geographical, Historical, Political, Philosophical and Mechanical ESSAYS. The FIRST, Containing An ANALYSIS Of a General MAP of the MIDDLE BRITISH COLONIES IN AMERICA; And of the Country of the Confederate Indians; A Description of the Face of the Country;…By LEWIS EVANS. The second EDITION. PHILADELPHIA: Printed by B. FRANKLIN, and D. HALL. MDCCLV. And sold by J. and R. DODSLEY, in Pall-Mall, London.](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/BRM-3427-Evans-Essays-1755_map_lowres-150x150.jpg)
A superb example in full original color of the rare first state of the Lewis Evans Map of the Middle British Colonies, called by Schwartz and Ehrenberg “the most ambitious performance of its kind undertaken in America up to that time.” Bound in, as issued, to Evans’ Analysis of a General Map of the Middle […]
![A[ugust] F[riedrich] W[ilhelm] Crome / F.A. Pingeling Sculpsit Hamburg, NEUE CARTE VON EUROPA welch die merkwürdigsten Producte und vernehmsten Handelsplätze dem Flächen-Inhalt aller Europäischen Länder…. Dessau, 1782.](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/BRM3382-Crome-Europe_lowres-e1569267525944-150x150.jpg)
A detailed thematic map illustrating European agricultural, extractive and manufacturing activity at the end of the 18th century. Thought to be the earliest example of economic mapping. Crome’s map illustrates the distribution across Europe of the production of 56 commodities and other products, including gold, copper, wine, fruit, salt, hemp, silk, horses, and so on. The symbols for each […]
A very large American world map published in the 18th century, bearing an interesting connection to Ben Franklin and his Gulf Stream research. The map was drawn by Captain Thomas Truxtun (1755-1822), who had an illustrious naval career as a privateer during the Revolution, a well-traveled merchant captain during the post-war years, and finally a […]
A scarce map of the American colonies, engraved by James Turner of Boston and published and sold by Ben Franklin. One of the very few maps produced in America before 1750 and obtainable by the collector. Background This is one of three maps engraved by James Turner and issued with a A Bill in the […]
An interesting chart depicting the Gulf Stream and thermometric observations of the Atlantic made by American Jonathan Williams, Jr. Williams (1750-1815) was a grand-nephew of Benjamin Franklin and was his personal secretary during the latter’s service as American agent in England in the early 1770s and ambassador to France during the Revolution. He later served […]
A dramatic, unrecorded broadside relating the burning in effigy of Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson and British Solicitor General Alexander Wedderburn in Philadelphia in 1774. This came in “retaliation” for the humiliation of Benjamin Franklin in London after the revelation of his role in the publication of Hutchinson’s papers. In 1767-69, against the backdrop of ongoing […]
An interesting chart of the Gulf Stream, based on Ben Franklin’s pioneering research. The map depicts the Gulf Stream issuing through the strait separating Cuba and Florida, flowing northeast along the coastline, then turning eastward and gradually dissipating. The second, larger flow, which follows a circular, clockwise path, is almost certainly a depiction of the […]
A rare 18th-century world map by American naval hero Thomas Truxtun, featuring the course of the Gulf Stream and bearing an interesting connection to Ben Franklin. The map was drawn by Thomas Truxtun (1755-1822), who had an illustrious naval career as a privateer during the Revolution, well-traveled merchant captain during the post-war years, and commander […]
![J[oseph] Priestley, L.L.D. F.R.S., A NEW CHART OF HISTORY. London: Engraved and published by J. Johnson in Pater-noster Row, J. Bowles No. 13 Cornhill, C. Bowles No. 69 St. Pauls Church Yard, R. Sayer No. 53 Fleet Street and T. Jefferys the corner of St. Martins Lane Charing Cross, April 11th 1769.](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/BRM3253-Priestley-Chart-History-e1554298611866-150x150.jpg)
Joseph Priestley’s very rare New Chart of History, a “masterpiece of visual economy” (Rosenberg and Grafton) and a landmark in the display of information. The polymathic Joseph Priestly (1733-1804) was a British clergyman, theologian, scientist, political theorist, educator and prolific author with more than 150 works to his credit. Best known as a chemist, he […]