American Maps

Presented is the 1932 pictorial map of the principal events in George Washington’s life from the General Drafting Company. The map displays the eastern coastline of the United States...

A wonderful vintage pictorial map of Nantucket Island, by Jack Atherton, 1937, simple and whimsical, showing the general lay of the land and feat...

This 1939 Richard Edes Harrison map of New York City, published for an issue of Fortune Magazine, represents a triumph of the visual display of quantitative information. Its aesthetic impact is all the more impressive in its clear expression of municipal and demographic data, making this a map of the people of New York City, as much as of the physical city itself. The map centers on Brooklyn and Manhattan, but includes much of the surrounding burrows. The color-coded detail of the map is nothing short of an impressive work for its time. The map is color coded by residential, industrial, business, parks and parkways, airports, cemeteries, public and private institutions, and Federal Government Property. An inset map, “The Lower Half of Manhattan in Detail,” positioned below the title provides a more detailed street layout of lower Manhattan, from Central Park to Battery Park. Using a new color code for this inset map, Harrison marked the city’s most valuable real estate, including structures assessed at 5 million dollars or more. In the lower right, two comparative insert maps show the difference between day and night population densities for the entire area shown in the main map. The map also has a very decorative and unique compass rose. Within the rose’s circuit is yet another inset map, showing the limit of the main map in the context of the greater metropolitan area and the surrounding states. Harrison’s map of New York City is based mainly on a series of maps issued in 1933 by the City Planning Commission. Produced as an Emergency Relief Project, those 1933 maps illustrated the distribution of living and working populations, the age, type, and rental of buildings, and the use of land, existing streets, and waterways in great detail. Harrison’s street grid was reproduced directly from “Existing Streets 1935,” which in turn was based on the “Board of Estimate and Apportionment Map,” copyrighted in 1933 by Herman Smith. Harrison did the impressive work of designing the present map, bringing the material up to date, revising shorelines, and adding new construction from the past six years. This map appeared in only one edition, as a supplement to the July issue of Fortune magazine. OCLC lists only five examples in institutional collections. Richard Edes Harrison (1902- 1994) was an American cartographer and cartoonist. Harrison is credited with redefining cartography, by employing spherical perspective, bold shading, and graphic design to both make maps more publicly accessible. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Harrison studied design at Yale, graduating in 1923. He relocated to New York City at the height of the Great Depression and worked in industrial design. Harrison created his first cartographic work while he worked a fill-in job at Fortune magazine. The success of his first project launched a long-standing collaboration with Fortune, including expertly executed WWII maps...

This vintage map emulates a travel poster with its vibrant colors, encouraging tourism to the islands of Hawaii. The map depicts the Hawaiian Islands of Hawaii, Maui, Kahoolawe, Lana...

This decorative and colorful map of mid Atlantic states was published by The National Geographic Magazine, in July 1938. The map accompanied the article "Roads from Washington," and contains a variety of interesting historical sites and notes on Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. A legend at bottom right identifies battlefields, ruins, historic churches, monuments, towns with interesting sites, famous hunting and riding centers, and noteworthy architecture. The map also offers a beautiful charting of the Chesapeake Bay and it’s offshoots. The map was completed in the Map and Art Studios of the National Geographic Society. It was designed by C. E. Riddiford. Research for the map was completed by W. Chamberlin and A.E. Holdstock. Relief was drawn by JJ. Brehm. Surrounding this unique cartographic work is a decorative border with alternating scenes of nearby locations and portraits of historical figures. At top, from left to right are: Gettysburg, Matthew F. Maury, Valley Forge, James Madison, Mt. Vernon, John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, Philadelphia, George Washington, Williamsburg, Thomas Jefferson, New Castle, Cecil Calvert, Washington DC, Poe, Delaware, Benjamin Franklin, and Arlington. At bottom, from left to right are: U.S. Naval Academy, John Marshall, Warrenton, Cyrus McCormick, Chesapeake Bay, Walter Reed, Winchester, James Monroe, Charlottesville, Capt. John Smith, and Annapolis. With its border of notable figures and places, this map of the Historic and Scenic Reaches of the Nation's Capital is as much a work of art as a map. The frame is made from re-purposed 19th century window frame...

This informative and descriptive map follows the travels of George Washington in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, between 1731 and 1799. Compiled and drawn in the Cartog...

Beautiful example of a classic globe from the 1930s and made by Weber Costello. The mounting mechanism is cast from copper. The roots of what would bec...

This nautical chart of Provincetown Harbor was created circa 1935 and depicts the coasts of Cape Cod and surrounding bodies of water The chart has been...

Framed US Coast Guard map of the New York Harbor, stamped April 12, 1930. Stock ID: D9417

Modular design. Smooth sliding. This can be seen at our 149 Madison Ave store in Manhattan.

Original 1930's botany charts salvaged from Yale University. We have a few more in this series, framed and unframed