Boston Rare MapsSpecializing in antique American maps & prints
A lovely chromolithographic view of the so-called New England Fair, the exhibition building of the New England Manufacturers and Mechanics Institute. Extremely rare in any form, but particularly unusual for being a publisher’s mockup, with extensive material in manuscript. In 1881 the building was the site of the first exhibition of the Institute, which organization […]
A rare and lovely chromolithographic promotional for farm equipment maker Adriance Platt & Co., unusual for its use of a bird’s eye view of the Hudson River. Adriance Platt & Co. began in 1852 as a wholesale hardware business founded by John Adriance, his son John P., and two other men. The men soon moved […]
A lovely example of this well-known 1903 bird’s-eye view of Lake Winnipesaukee, unusual for being in vibrant chromolithographic color on heavy paper. By 1903 the Lakes and White Mountain regions of New Hampshire had become major tourist destinations, with a well-developed network of rail links and hotels. Accompanying this development was a rich literature and […]
A striking and extremely rare 1913 chromolithographic view of the Great Dayton Flood during which water and fire laid waste to much of downtown Dayton, Ohio. The worst natural disaster in Ohio history, the Great Dayton Flood was caused by a series of heavy rainstorms in March 1913. After several days of rain, on March […]
A fine example of this well-known chromolithographic bird’s-eye view of Casco Bay and Portland, Maine, lithographed for the Maine Central Railroad by George H. Walker. Established through merger in 1862, by the early 20th century the Maine Central Railroad dominated its market, with lines throughout the state and neighboring New Hampshire. It commissioned this lovely […]
A spectacular promotional bird’s-eye view of Mount Washington and the White Mountains, issued by the Boston & Maine Railroad. By the early 20th century the Lakes and White Mountain regions of New Hampshire were major tourist destinations, with a well-developed network of hotels and resort towns and villages. With the proliferation of the automobile some […]
A mammoth and spectacular chromolithographic poster of Columbia, likely prepared for the 1893 Columbian Exposition. Owned in partnership with James Arsenault & Company. The portrait depicts a full-length Columbia in a white chiton and blue cape, wearing a crown of stars and a liberty cap. Her right hand rests on a sword and a laurel […]
![George S. Harris, Land Commissioner, H. & St. Jo. R. R., Hannibal, Mo. / Matthews & Warren, Commercial Advertiser Printing House, Buffalo, MISSOURI IS FREE! FARMS AND HOMES IN NORTHERN MISSOURI! Hannibal AND St. Joseph R.R. OFFERS FOR SALE NEARLY 500,000 ACRES OF THE BEST PRAIRIE, TIMBER AND COAL LANDS IN THE WEST! NP, ND [but ca. 1866-68].](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/BRM3214-Hannibal-St-Joseph_lowres-e1547676757544-150x150.jpg)
A rare, vibrantly-colored, and frankly, spectacular broadside promoting the sale of Missouri lands owned by the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad. The Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad was formed in 1846, at a meeting in the Hannibal, Missouri law office of Mark Twain’s father John Marshall Clemens. Construction began in 1851, and when completed in […]
An early and spectacular example of American pictorial mapping, Rambles through Our Country is a simple educational game requiring players to complete a “grand tour” of the United States. The game is played on a board featuring a spectacular chromolithographic map of the United States. The map bears 200 numbered stations beginning with Hartford—where the […]
With their focus on the epic process of filling in Boston’s many coves and inlets, most discussions of the history of the city’s topographical history are, literally speaking, two dimensional. Often neglected is the tale of the city’s vertical diminishment through the cutting down of the three-peaked ridge (the “Tremontane”) that once bisected the Shawmut […]