Boston Rare MapsSpecializing in rare, important and unusual American maps and prints
![J[oseph] N[icholas] Nicollet / Assisted by J[ohn] C[harles] Fremont / W.J. Stone Sc[ulpsit], MAP OF THE HYDROGRAPHICAL BASIN OF THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER From Astronomical and Barometrical Observations, Surveys and Information. BY J. N. NICOLLET. MADE IN THE YEARS 1836, 37, 38, 39 & 40, ASSISTED IN 1838, 39 & 40, BY LIEUT. J. C. FREMONT OF THE CORPS OF TOPOGRAPHICAL ENGINEERS Under the Superintendence of the Bureau of the Corps of Topographical Engineers and authorized by THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Senate, 1942.](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/BRM3340-Nicollet-Hydrographic-Basin-Mississippi_composite_lowres-scaled-e1617663377885-150x150.jpg)
The exceptionally rare six-sheet Nicollet & Fremont map of the upper Mississippi River, considered the foundation of modern mapping of the Upper Midwest and Great Plains and “One of the most important contributions ever made to American geography.” (Gouverneur Kemble Warren). Nicollet’s map depicts the Mississippi Basin from just below the mouth of the Missouri […]
![Eman[uel] Bowen, Geographer to his Majesty, A NEW MAP of Georgia, with Part of CAROLINA, FLORIDA and LOUISIANA. Drawn from Original Draughts, assisted by the most approved Maps and Charts. [London: Thomas Woodward et al., 1748].](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/BRM3756-Bowen-New-Map-of-Georgia-1737_lowres-scaled-e1615389846787-150x150.jpg)
An early, important English map of the Georgia colony, chartered in 1732, here depicted with its borders extending to the Mississippi River and presumably on to the Pacific, although actual physical settlement was then limited to a narrow band along the Atlantic coast. The original charters of the English colonies in North America established boundaries […]
An early and important guide to the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers by Zadock Cramer, including no fewer than 28 maps. “[O]ne of the most useful guide-books ever published and the detailed descriptions, revised from time to time, make it especially useful to the historical student today.” (Solon Buck, Travel and Description 1765-1865, p. 9) This […]
![Engineer Reproduction Plant, U. S. Army / Mississippi River Commission, LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER [:] EARLY STREAM CHANNELS AT APPROXIMATE HALF-CENTURY INTERVALS [:] CAIRO, ILL. TO BATON ROUGE, LA. MILE 0 TO MILE 842. Washington, D.C.: Corps of Engineers, 1938.](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BRM3786-Stream-Channels-Mississippi-1938-MLB-composite_lowres-scaled-e1660215519582-150x150.jpg)
A rare and spectacular set of thematic maps depicting historical changes in the channels of the Mississippi River, issued in 1938 by the Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi River Commission. Those living on the banks of the Mississippi have always been blessed by its fertile alluvial plain and ready water access to much of […]
![[Lith. of Julius Bien], Map of the Rebel Fortifications at Columbus Ky. Surveyed under the direction of Brig. Genl. Geo. W. Cullum Chief of Staff & Engineers Dept. of the Mississippi. [New York? 1862.]](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/BRM1767S9-Cullum-Columbus-Kentucky-1862_lowres-scaled-e1630070980342-150x150.jpg)
Rare plan showing the Confederate fortifications at Columbus, Kentucky, a focal point of action in the Western Theatre early in the Civil War. Located on the east bank of the Mississippi, Columbus offered a strategic location, with high bluffs overlooking the river and lying at the northern terminus of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. It […]
A scarce, striking and prescient bird’s-eye view of the Mississippi Valley, issued in 1861 before the region became a critical theatre of the Civil War. After the capture of Fort Sumter on April 14, 1861, President Lincoln declared the South in a state of insurrection and called for 75,000 volunteers to augment the tiny U.S. […]
A fascinating early 19th century manuscript map and merchant’s inventory from the Illinois Country. The map shows the area between the Mississippi and Kaskaskia rivers, from their confluence north to the approximate latitude of Edwardsville. This strategic region, which lies near where both the Missouri and the Ohio rivers enter the Mississippi, was originally settled by French Canadians […]
This interesting little map is in fact the first printed image to provide any detail of the French settlement in the Natchez area on the east bank of the Mississippi River. Settlement in the area began in or around 1714 at a trading post in close proximity to Natchez Indian settlements, in particular the “Grand Village […]
![[ St. Louis Fire ] Drawn by L[eopold] Gast / Jul[iu]s Hutawa Lithr, View of the City of ST. LOUIS, MO. : The great Fire of the City on the 17th and 18th of May. 1849. St. Louis: Julius Hutawa, June 1849.](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/BRM3204-Gast-St-Louis-Fire-1849-e1547903960930-150x150.jpg)
A dramatic, informative and very rare image of the 1849 St. Louis Fire, rushed into print within days or weeks of the catastrophe. Background In 1849 St. Louis, Missouri was a booming city of some 63,000, benefitting from its role as a major Mississippi River port and as the last major city where settlers and gold […]
A remarkable bird’s-eye depiction of the seat of civil war in the southeastern United States, centered on the Mississippi Delta and covering much of the western Gulf Coast. Drawn from an imaginary viewpoint far above the Gulf of Mexico, the view extends inland as far as Jackson, Vicksburg, Selma, Montgomery and Macon. Designed for an audience on the home front […]