Boston Rare MapsSpecializing in rare, important and unusual American maps and prints
“Mathematical practitioner” Osgood Carleton (1724-1816) of Boston is remembered today for his considerable output of important maps of American subjects. Among the best known are seminal maps of Boston, Massachusetts, Maine and the United States, often produced in partnership with Boston engraver and publisher John Norman. Carleton was sufficiently well respected that other mapmakers, such as Norman as well as Matthew Clark, solicited his “seal of approval” on their work.
A classic “hard-luck” story, Osgood Carleton sought to make ends meet by engaging in a wide variety of professional activities involving applied mathematics: “Income and a certain celebrity resulted from his various published endeavors, but teaching and surveying formed the pillars of Carleton’s livelihood. The ledger of his career, like those of many other practitioners, resembles a catalogue of occupations that reflects an enterprise and opportunism born of economic necessity.” (Bosse, p. 143)
The single best summary of Carleton’s life and work may be found in David Bosse’s “ Osgood Carleton: Mathematical Practitioner of Boston,” Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, vol. 107 (1995), pp. 141-164.
![Osgood Carleton, AN ACCURATE MAP of THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Exclusive of the DISTRICT of MAINE Compiled pursuant to an ACT of the GENERAL COURT From Actual Surveys of the several Towns, &c.... Boston: Published and Sold by O. Carleton & J. Norman, [1798.]](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/BRM3522-Carleton_Norman-Massachusetts-1798_lowres-scaled-e1603477420533-150x150.jpg)
A great rarity, this seminal map by Osgood Carleton is by far the best 18th-century map of Massachusetts and one of the earliest officially-sponsored maps of an American state. With extensive expert restoration and priced accordingly, but all-but unobtainable in any condition. The map’s large scale of six miles to the inch gave mapmaker Osgood […]
An early, valuable and exceptionally rare map of Maine while still the “Eastern District” of Massachusetts, with the ownership inscription of renowned Maine mapmaker Moses Greenleaf. The map by John Norman of Boston is a reduced edition of An Accurate Map of the District of Maine, which had been compiled by Osgood Carleton, engraved by […]
A rare and detailed plan of Boston by Osgood Carleton, taken from the 1796 second edition of John West’s Boston Directory. This plan’s relatively large scale enables it to depict Boston in greater detail than any map of the town since before the American Revolution. The street layout is shown and all streets named, as […]
The Osgood Carleton “Map of Massachusetts,” the first official state map and a vast improvement over any earlier effort. Description A very nice copy of the second edition of the first official map of the State of Massachusetts. Based largely on new surveys, it depicts the state with the surveyed boundaries of counties and towns; […]
An essential Maine map. Description This monumental map depicts Maine at a scale of 2.5 miles to the inch. The very large scale enables the map to provide much detail of the intricate coastline and complex system of rivers, streams, lakes and ponds, though surprisingly little attention is paid to its many mountainous areas. The […]
A monumental wall map of the United States by Osgood Carleton, much enlarged and greatly updated to reflect political developments and advances in geographic knowledge. A great rarity, known in only 10 or 11 examples, most in American institutions. The map Carleton’s first attempt at a wall map of the country appeared in 1791 as […]
![[After Osgood Carleton], A PLAN OF BOSTON, from actual Survey; by Osgood Carleton. 1796. [Boston, end 18th century?]](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/BRM2769-Boston-manuscript-after-Carleton_lowres-scaled-e1642433960126-150x150.jpg)
An early manuscript plan of Boston, based on Osgood Carleton’s 1796 plan of the city and perhaps rendered by a Boston-area schoolboy or schoolgirl. Carleton’s plan, and this carefully-rendered copy, depicted Boston in greater detail than any map of the town since the American Revolution. The street layout is shown and all streets named, as […]
![[Osgood Carleton], A New Map OF THE UNITED STATES OF America Drawn from the latest Authorities. Boston: I. Norman, 1799.](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/BRM3519-Norman-United-States-1799_lowres-scaled-e1603480545161-150x150.jpg)
An exciting discovery, being an unrecorded 1799 second state of Osgood Carleton’s 1791 wall map of the United States. With extensive re-engraving including both changes and additions to the Northeast, Southeast, and western Kentucky and Tennessee. Engraved on five sheets, the map depicts the United States, as well as parts of British Canada, Spanish East […]
![Osgood Carleton, AN ACCURATE MAP, of The DISTRICT OF MAINE Being Part of the Commonwealth of MASSACHUSETTS: Compiled pursuant to an Act of the GENERAL COURT, From Actual Surveys of the several Towns &c. TAKEN BY THEIR ORDER: Exhibiting, the boundary Lines of the District the Counties and Towns, the principal Roads, Rivers, Mountains, Mines, Islands, Rocks, Shoals, Channels, Lakes, Ponds, Falls, Mills, Manufactures, and Public Buildings, with the Latitudes and Longitudes &c. Boston: Published and Sold by O. Carleton & J. Norman, [1798.]](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/BRM3497-Norman-Carleton-Maine_post-restoration_lowres-scaled-e1587132600268-150x150.jpg)
A great rarity, Osgood Carleton’s Accurate Map of the District of Maine is among the most desirable early Maine maps, the most detailed to appear in the eighteenth century, and one of the earliest maps sponsored by an American state. Carleton’s map depicts the then-District of Maine at a scale of six miles to the […]
![John Norman, A New Map of the District of Maine. Taken From the Original Map Compiled by Osgood Carleton Esqr. From the Actual Surveys that were made by an Act of the General Court With Additions Corrections & Improvements. Boston: Published & Sold by J. Norman Engraver, [1799?]](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BRM4335-Norman_Carleton-Maine-1801_lowres-scaled-e1680546335407-150x150.jpg)
An early, intriguing and exceptionally rare map of pre-statehood Maine by John Norman and Osgood Carleton, two of the greatest and most prolific American mapmakers of the early Republican era. The map is a reduced edition of An Accurate Map of the District of Maine, which had been compiled by Osgood Carleton, engraved by Norman, […]