Antique Map of Maine 1795 — Carleton Map Print, Framed

The story of this map

Twenty-five years before Maine became a state, the Massachusetts General Court ordered every town to survey itself and send in the results, and Osgood Carleton, a Boston mathematician and mapmaker, assembled them into this official map of the District of Maine. Published with John Norman in 1795, it is the first large, authoritative map of Maine made by Mainers.

The coast is the star. Carleton’s map follows every bay, cape and island from Kittery to Passamaquoddy, with Casco Bay and Penobscot Bay picked out in fine detail and the towns of the settled coast washed in hand colour. Inland, the rivers run up toward a vast blank interior, still mostly unsurveyed, which makes the map feel like a frontier document as much as a state map. The Library’s copy has lived a hard life, so our restoration is careful and thorough.

It is a wonderful piece for a Maine cottage, a boathouse, a Portland apartment or anyone whose family goes back to the old District. The tall format suits a hallway or the wall beside a staircase. It belongs to our Antique Maps of US States collection, the earliest of our New England state maps.

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 Maine, 1795: archive scan compared with the restored print

Archive scanRestored

Restoration notes

Restoration plan: the Library's copy is stained, with losses along the fold lines, and is mounted on cloth in eight sections, so this is a significant restoration: mend the fold-line tears and losses digitally, even out tone across the eight panels, and reduce the staining while keeping the paper tone and hand colouring; crop scan margins, balance colour cast and levels, 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 1795 map held by the Library of Congress. We never sell originals.

What is actually printed on this map?

The District of Maine while it was still part of Massachusetts, compiled from the towns' own surveys under an act of the General Court: the whole indented coast with its islands and bays, the incorporated towns in hand colour, rivers running inland, and the unsettled northern wilderness.

How big is the map on the sheet?

The original is a large portrait wall map of about 136 x 97 cm (54 x 38 in). Our prints run from 12 x 16 in up to 24 x 36 in in portrait orientation, and the scan is detailed enough for the coastal names to read well.

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

Burr Map of New York State, 1839

David H. Burr · Library of Congress

$129 24×18 in framed · paper from $35

Scull Map of Pennsylvania, 1770

William Scull · 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
12×16 in	30×41 cm	Desk, shelf, small wall, gallery groupings
12×18 in	30×46 cm	Desk, shelf, small wall, gallery groupings
16×20 in	41×51 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
16×24 in	41×61 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
18×24 in	46×61 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
20×30 in	51×76 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
24×30 in	61×76 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
24×32 in	61×81 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
24×36 in	61×91 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
30×40 in	76×102 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
32×48 in	81×122 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office

Antique Map of Maine, 1795

Before and after

Restoration notes

Hang them together — 10% off the second framed print