Antique Map of Florida 1883 — Colton Map Print, Framed

The story of this map

The Colton firm of New York was one of the great American map publishers of the nineteenth century, and its state maps, with their clean lettering and cheerful hand colouring, are among the most collected of the period. This is Colton’s Florida in its 1883 issue, printed from a plate first copyrighted in 1868 and updated as the state filled in.

It shows Florida just before the railroad and resort boom of the late 1880s: the counties washed in pastel colour, the long spine of the St. Johns River, the lakes of the interior, and the empty swamp and pine country of the south. A neat inset carries the southern tip of the peninsula and the Keys, so the whole state fits on one sheet. The overall effect is light, warm and very easy to live with on a wall.

It is a natural choice for a Florida home, a beach house, a lanai or a screened porch, and a good gift for anyone who has moved to the state or grew up there. It belongs to our Antique Maps of US States collection, where it pairs well with the 1859 Georgia map next door.

Printed to order on archival matte paper, or on canvas, and framed in the country of delivery.

Before and after

Left: the archive scan exactly as published. Right: the file that goes to the printer.

Antique Map of Florida, 1883: archive scan compared with the restored print

Archive scanRestored

Restoration notes

Restoration plan: crop scan margins, balance colour cast and levels while keeping the paper tone, remove library stamps and scanner artefacts if present, gentle sharpening. No repainting of original content.

Every print carries its archive credit on the packing slip. Paper tone and small imperfections of the original are kept on purpose; nothing is redrawn.

Questions

Is this an original antique map?

No. It is a new archival print of a restored high-resolution scan of the 1883 map held by the Boston Public Library's Leventhal Map & Education Center. We never sell originals.

What is actually printed on this map?

The whole of Florida with its counties in hand colour, rivers, lakes and coastline, plus a small inset that continues the southern tip of the peninsula and the Keys. The plate carries an 1868 copyright notice and this is the 1883 issue of it.

How big is the map on the sheet?

The original sheet is about 43 x 66 cm (17 x 26 in), landscape. Our prints run from 12 x 18 in to 24 x 36 in and the full map fits every size with a narrow margin.

Does it come framed?

Choose it. Every map comes as an archival matte paper print, a stretched canvas, or framed in black, white or natural oak. Framed prints are made and framed in the country of delivery, ready to hang.

Colours vary between screens and paper. The tone you see here is a close match to the archival matte print; framed prints have no glass glare in these previews.

Pairs well with

Hang them together — 10% off the second framed print

Antique Map of Georgia, 1859

James R. Butts · Boston Public Library, Leventhal Map Center

$129 18×24 in framed · paper from $35

Antique Map of Colorado, 1878

G.W. & C.B. Colton · Library of Congress

$129 24×18 in framed · paper from $35

The discount is applied automatically at checkout when two or more framed prints are in the cart.

Size	Metric	Best for
16×12 in	41×30 cm	Desk, shelf, small wall, gallery groupings
18×12 in	46×30 cm	Desk, shelf, small wall, gallery groupings
20×16 in	51×41 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
24×16 in	61×41 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
24×18 in	61×46 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
30×20 in	76×51 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
30×24 in	76×61 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
32×24 in	81×61 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
36×24 in	91×61 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office

Antique Map of Florida, 1883

Before and after

Restoration notes

Hang them together — 10% off the second framed print