1870 "Johnson's Boston and Vicinity" Map, Published by A. J. Johnson

Presented is an original 1870 "Johnson's Boston and Vicinity" map. This map was issued as pages 36 and 37 in the 1870 edition of “Johnson's New Illustrated (Steel Plate) Family Atlas.” The map is engraved, with attractive hand coloring and a decorative border. The map focuses on Boston and the surrounding areas of Cambridge, Somerville, Charlestown, Medford, Everett, Chelsea, North Chelsea, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, West Roxbury, and Breeds Island, Governors Island, Castle Island, and Thompson's Island. They are hand colored in various shades of pink, light pink, yellow, and green. The map is beautifully detailed, with streets, railroads, city car roads, ward boundaries, ward numbers, and Harbor Commuter Lines all identified. The map also shows the Charles River, Boston Harbor, Dorchester Bay, Mystic River, and Chelsea Creek in nice detail. 

The publishing company of A.J. Johnson was a successor of Johnson and Ward, a successor to Johnson and Browning, themselves a successor to the famous publishing company, J. H. Colton and Company. A combination of both new plates and older, updated ones, all of the maps in this famous 1870 atlas were compiled, drawn, and engraved under the supervision of A. J. Johnson.

This 1870 publication of “Johnson's New Illustrated (Steel Plate) Family Atlas” is also notable for its inclusion of a treatise on physical geography by Professor A. Guyot, marking the first year his essay appeared and his name featured on the cover. The atlas was recognized with a First Prize Medal at the Universal Exposition of 1867 in Paris.

“Johnson's New Illustrated Family Atlas” was a comprehensive world atlas featuring 60 full-color maps. Designed to be both educational and a decorative addition to a home library, it reflected the 19th-century fascination with detailed and ornate cartographic publications. In addition to maps, the atlas included geographical, statistical, and historical information, as well as a dictionary of religious denominations, a testament to its extensive scope and utility. The treatise on physical geography by A. Guyot further demonstrates that period’s growing interest in scientific inquiry, making the atlas a valuable resource not just for navigation and geography, but also for understanding the natural world.

CONDITION: 

Very good + condition. Hand Colored. Page 36 and 37 from “Johnson's New Illustrated (Steel Plate) Family Atlas.”  Decorative border.  Publication line reads: "Entered according to Act of Congress in the Year 1870, by A.J. Johnson, in the Clerks Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York". Toning to paper, more noticeable along the margins.  Full margins, staining at top. Map Dimensions: 18" H x 26 1/2" W. 

Archivally framed in a custom-built wooden frame with UV glass and acid-free mats.

Framed Dimension: 29" H x 23 3/4" W x 1" D.

Accompanied by our company's letter of authenticity.