1839 – A New & Complete Map of the City of Boston, with part of Charlestown, Cambridge & Roxbury, From the best Authorities by G.W. Boynton for Nathaniel Dearborn & Son – Antique Map Sast For Sale

Item number: CSMT123

Genuine Antique Map

1839

Maker: Boynton Dearborn

Extremely rare map of Boston by Boynton and published by Dearborn in 1839. This map orients west to the top and includes Boston Proper, Charlestown, East Boston, South Boston, and parts of Cambridge and Roxbury. This first edition was issued separately, never folded or bound into a book, whereas later editions were included in Boston Directories. Boynton was Boston’s leading engraver at the time and Dearborn was a notable Boston publisher.

This map shows Boston at a fascinating moment in the city’s history: the Mill Dam had been completed but additional plans for what is now Back Bay had not yet been conceived. In 1814, the Boston and Roxbury Mill Corporation was chartered to construct a milldam, which would also serve as a toll road connecting Boston to Watertown, bypassing Boston Neck. The dam prevented the natural tides from flushing sewage out to sea, creating severe sanitary and odor problems. With costs higher and power lower than expected, in the end, the project was an economic failure, and in 1857 a massive project was begun to “make land” by filling the area enclosed by the dam. Present-day Back Bay itself was filled by 1882; the project reached existing land at what is now Kenmore Square in 1890, and finished in the Fens in 1900.

With notable buildings in a reference table at bottom, early railroads with tiny trains, some topography. It is notable that this map was printed as a steel engraving, which gives it a better quality image than some later editions that were lithographs. This map has been professionally restored to close some tears, including one large tear from the lower margin into the title. Overall very good condition. Measures approx. 18 x 16.25 inches to the outer edge of the decorative border. This map has not been seen on the market for almost a decade and is nearly impossible to acquire.

Item Number: CSMT123