Boston Rare MapsSpecializing in rare, important and unusual American maps and prints
![Jed[ediah] Hotchkiss, Top. Engineer, Staunton, Virginia, THIRTY FIVE MILES AROUND RICHMOND, VA. Washington, D.C. and Richmond, Va.: C[asimir] Bohn, 1867.](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/BRM4401-Hotchkiss-Richmond-1867_lowres-150x150.jpg)
A rare 1867 map of Richmond, Virginia and surroundings by Jedediah Hotchkiss, formerly mapmaker to Generals Stonewall Jackson and Lee. Beginning with McLellan’s abortive Peninsula Campaign of 1862, the Confederate capital at Richmond was of course a primary target of the Union, both for war planners and in the mind of the general public. A […]
![[Adolph and Henryt Lindenkohl], SKETCH OF PORTIONS OF SEA COAST OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA. [Washington, D.C.]: United States Coast Survey, 1863.](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/BRM3917-USCS-South-Carolina-and-Georgia_low-resolution-scaled-e1689705643608-150x150.jpg)
Very rare map of the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia issued by the U.S. Coast Survey in 1863, no doubt for use in the Union blockade of the Confederate coast. Background As war with the Confederacy loomed in early 1861, Union leadership under General Winfield Scott drew up what came to be known as the […]
![[Edw. Molitor Lith., SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA SHOWING THE APPROACHES TO MOBILE. [Washington, D.C.:] Coast Survey Office, 1863.](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/BRM1767W3-USCS-Southern-Miss-and-Ala_2-stone_lowres-150x150.jpg)
Rare map of southern Alabama and Mississippi, drawn by the United States Coast Survey for use of the Union Army during the Civil War. At the outset of the Civil War, it became apparent to the Union leadership that there was a lack of reliable maps available for much of the South. They soon turned […]
A trove of information, this chart includes immensely detailed soundings; navigational hazards; navigational aids such as lighthouses and light ships; and sailing directions. Also provided is detailed topographical and cartographical information on the adjacent coastal regions, at times extending well inland. An earlier version of this chart printed on thin paper were bound in the Report […]
A heretofore unknown, highly detailed manuscript map of the southern Virginia peninsula, evidently produced at the conclusion of the Peninsula Campaign. Pasted to the map are eight watercolors and pen and ink sketches by the mapmaker, four of which he has signed. In light of its high quality of execution and wealth of topographical, cultural and […]
A landmark use of thematic mapping to present U.S. census data. Intended to demonstrate the wildly uneven distribution of slaveholding in Virginia and thereby influence the secession debates of 1861. The map depicts Virginia and its counties in outline, with a figure in each county indicating the number of slaves as a percentage of the overall […]
![Drawn by Adolph Lindenkolh / H[enry] Lindenkohl & C[harles] G. Krebs Lith., [North Carolina, with adjacent parts of Virginia and South Carolina.] Washington, DC: United States Coast Survey, 1865.](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/BRM1767S6-Lindenkohl-VA_NC_SC-1865_lowres-scaled-e1590941520759-150x150.jpg)
Rare large-format map of North Carolina and adjacent areas of Virginia and South Carolina, compiled by Adolph Lindenkohl of the United States Coast Survey for the final campaign of the Civil War. At the outset of the Civil War, it quickly became apparent to the senior Union military leaders that they lacked detailed, reliable maps […]
![Drawn by E[dwin] Hergesheimer / C. B. Graham lithr., MAP OF VIRGINIA Showing the distribution of its SLAVE POPULATION from the CENSUS OF 1860. Washington, DC: Henry S. Graham, June 13, 1861.](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/BRM4019-Hergesheimer-Virginia-1861_lowres-scaled-e1639089869971-150x150.jpg)
A landmark use of thematic mapping to present U.S. census data. Intended to demonstrate the wildly uneven distribution of slaveholding in Virginia and thereby influence the secession debates of 1861. The map depicts Virginia and its counties in outline, with a figure in each county indicating the number of slaves as a percentage of the […]
A rare Confederate-imprint map of Virginia and North Carolina, probably issued in the second half of 1864, while Ulysses S. Grant and his massive Army of the Potomac were stymied by Lee at the siege of Petersburg. Printed and published by Evans and Cogswell, recently displaced from Charleston to Columbia, South Carolina by the advance of […]
Rare map of Nantucket by William Mitchell, described by Crosby as “the first large size map of local origin and of considerable accuracy” and one of the most sought-after maps of the island. Drawn by Nantucket astronomer and mathematician William Mitchell (1791-1868), the map depicts the island’s complex coastline, major topographical features, roads, and residences. […]