Best place to purchase antique maps of Massachusetts?

November 21, 2014 11:56 AM

I'd like to purchase an antique map (or a good reproduction) as a Christmas present, and I'm having trouble figuring out where to shop.

I'm looking for a map of either Massachusetts or Cambridge/Boston, the older the better. A reproduction would be fine if it is high quality. There seem to be lots of ebay sellers and other websites that sell this type of thing, but it's difficult to tell who is legit and what the quality is. Does anyone have experience buying from a particular store/seller that they would recommend? I'm also opening to visiting a store in person, in the Boston area, if anyone knows of a good spot.

posted by rainbowbrite to Shopping (13 answers total)

Best answer: There's a place on upper Mass Ave in Cambridge, between Harvard and Porter, that sells a lot of maps and reproductions. I don't recall the name but it's next door to Abodeon.
posted by mr vino at 12:00 PM on November 21, 2014 [2 favorites]

I bought a nice antique map from a seller on Etsy named bananastrudel. They seem to have a large selection...if not that shop, then someone else on Etsy might have a good option.
posted by three_red_balloons at 12:08 PM on November 21, 2014

I think mr vino is talking about Ward Maps. I haven't used them but web site looks good; they have a huge selection of map files that you can order prints of.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:09 PM on November 21, 2014

Best answer: There was a place on Charles St. called Eugene Galleries that had tons of old maps of Boston. I'm sure they're still there.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 12:12 PM on November 21, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Yeah, Ward Maps is the place to go. The guy that digitizes the maps is usually present at the Harvard Square Holly Fair with originals for sale, too, if you're interested in that. The reproductions are very nice regardless.
posted by backseatpilot at 12:18 PM on November 21, 2014

Check jjjjjjjijjjjjjj on the mefi mall. I was just browsing and they have a few different Boston prints.
posted by Carillon at 12:19 PM on November 21, 2014 [1 favorite]

Coming in to nth Ward Maps. All sorts of maps, both modern and ancient.
posted by Pandora Kouti at 12:25 PM on November 21, 2014

Came to recommend Eugene Galleries on Charles St as well. It's a fun store and yeah, tons of maps like this. She will frame then for you, though it can be a bit pricey.
posted by olinerd at 1:00 PM on November 21, 2014

One more great thing about Ward Maps: If you have a particular part of Massachusetts or Boston in mind, they will sometimes be able to dig up a map or an atlas page of that exact place. For Father's Day a few years ago, I got my dad a reproduction of a map of the neighborhood he grew up in.
posted by ann_disaster at 1:02 PM on November 21, 2014

I have purchased quite a few historic map reproductions from this online source: Historic Urban Plans. The quality of the paper and the reproduction are both excellent. Their catalog carries several different Boston maps reproduced from different dates.
posted by MyTwoCentsToo at 1:05 PM on November 21, 2014

Carillon: Check jjjjjjjijjjjjjj on the mefi mall. I was just browsing and they have a few different Boston prints.

I was going to say that, too. Here's the MeFi Mall, and here's jjjjjjjijjjjjjj's Big Map Blog shop, but his site has a ton more maps. You can probably contact him to ask about custom orders, or you can simply download the map you like (he posts all his maps in large scale, free of charge) and get a local print.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:42 PM on November 21, 2014 [1 favorite]

http://www.geographicus.com/
posted by FauxScot at 2:19 AM on November 22, 2014

Response by poster: Ward Maps was the perfect spot - thanks guys! :) Got the perfect map.
posted by rainbowbrite at 2:08 PM on December 1, 2014