Boston Rare MapsSpecializing in rare, important and unusual American maps and prints
An early and very rare broadside advertisement promoting a Boston-Albany rail connection. The railroad craze came relatively early to Massachusetts. By the late 1820s a number of lines had been proposed, including the Boston & Worcester Railroad and a Western Railroad linking Worcester and Albany. Backers hoped the legislature would step in and fund the projects for the greater good. This […]
An unusual and very rare broadside depicting a Worcester, Massachusetts scandal and possibly featuring the earliest known image of police as pigs. The broadside depicts three policemen with pig’ ears and snouts storming into a couple’s bedroom. The astonished man stands before them in his nightshirt, presenting a document (perhaps a marriage certificate) for their inspection. […]
A lovely, richly-informative, and extraordinarily rare 1855 wall map of Grafton Massachusetts, an important Worcester County mill town. Woodford’s map provides a wonderfully detailed depiction of Grafton, located in Worcester County along the Quinsigamond River just west of modern-day Route 495. Incorporated in 1735, the town thrived early in the Industrial Revolution due to the […]
A rare broadside documenting the 1812 redistricting controversy in Massachusetts, and a precursor to the “Gerrymander,” one of the most infamous images in American political history. In early 1812 Massachusetts Republicans engineered a radical redistricting of their state, designed to disadvantage the Federalist majority in the upcoming state senatorial elections. It did so by spreading […]
A fine and extremely rare map depicting the human and natural geography of the town of Leominster in Worcester County, Massachusetts. The map provides an immensely detailed view of the town in the early 1800s, including the its boundaries, the road network, and features of the natural topography (with symbols for woodlands, and shading employed […]
A lovely and richly-informative map of Leicester Massachusetts, a Worcester County mill town. Only the third example located, and in very nice, unconserved condition. Founded in 1714, Leicester citizens were involved in the early battles of the Revolution. Thereafter it became an early participant in the American Industrial Revolution, for over a century producing some one-third of […]
![[Elkanah Tisdale?], The Weekly Messenger [with maps of Worcester and Essex Counties relating to the 1812 redistricting of Massachusetts.] Boston: James Cutler, March 6, 1812.](https://bostonraremaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/BRM3844-Weekly-Messenger_lowres-scaled-e1623671448572-150x150.jpg)
A scarce 1812 issue of the Boston Weekly Messenger, with a front-page attack on the blatantly partisan gerrymandering of Massachusetts recently signed into law by Governor Gerry. In early 1812 Massachusetts Republicans engineered a radical redistricting of their state, designed to disadvantage the Federalist majority in the upcoming state senatorial elections. It did so by […]