Boston by Ward, 1880

The Boston Map Company produced this large-format plan, 121 by 130 centimeters, showing the city at its mature ward-map peak. Soft pastel pinks, blues, greens, and golds fill the wards, and the Harbor Commissioners' line traces the legal boundary between public water and private land. North is oriented toward the upper right, giving the peninsula a dynamic diagonal tilt. Radial distances from City Hall are marked across the sheet, and select public buildings are individually identified.

  • The Harbor Commissioners' line drawn in the water. It marks the legal limit beyond which no wharf or fill could extend without state permission.
  • The oblique north orientation tilts the entire peninsula on a diagonal; the composition feels more dynamic than maps oriented due north.
  • The radial distance circles from City Hall. They turn the plan into a measuring tool for gauging proximity to the civic center.

All prints are high-quality reproductions made from museum-grade scans at 300 DPI. Depending on the original scan dimensions, some prints may include white fill along the edges.

From $29.00