Ellicott Plan of Washington DC 1792 — Antique Map Print

The story of this map

This is the plan of a capital city that did not yet exist. Pierre L’Enfant designed it, Andrew Ellicott surveyed and revised it, and in 1792 the Philadelphia engravers Thackara & Vallance cut this large plate so that lots could be sold and the new federal city could begin. Our restored print is made from the Library of Congress copy, chosen from several the Library holds for its clean, unannotated impression.

The design is still astonishing. A grid of streets fills the land between the Potomac and the Eastern Branch, and across it run the broad diagonal avenues that give Washington its circles, triangles and long vistas. The sites set aside for the Capitol and the President’s House are marked, with the open ground between them that would become the Mall. The rivers, the creeks and the surrounding hills are engraved in fine line, and the title and explanatory notes are set in elegant eighteenth-century type.

Anyone who has lived or worked in Washington reads this map with a shock of recognition: the streets are the ones they walk. It suits an office, a study, a townhouse hallway or a diplomat’s living room, and its near-square shape lets us offer it in 20x20 and 24x24 inch formats alongside the standard sizes. It belongs to our American Cities collection and pairs with the 1784 first map of the United States or the Fry-Jefferson map of Virginia.

Printed to order on archival matte paper 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.

Ellicott Plan of Washington DC, 1792: 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. The LC copy is fold-lined and mounted on cloth; the fold lines will be softened and the papermaker's watermark left as found. 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 1792 map held by the Library of Congress. We never sell originals.

What is actually printed on this map?

The planned City of Washington between the Potomac and the Eastern Branch, with its grid of streets crossed by broad diagonal avenues, the sites reserved for the Capitol and the President's House, the numbered squares, and the engraved title and notes.

How big is the map on the sheet?

The Library of Congress copy shows a map of about 52 x 69 cm on a larger sheet. Its proportions are close to square, so besides the landscape formats we offer 20x20 and 24x24 inch square prints.

Does it come framed?

Yes, if you choose a framed option. Framed prints are made and framed in the country of delivery in a black, white or natural oak frame; you can also order the paper print alone or a stretched canvas.

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

First Map of the United States, 1784

William McMurray · Library of Congress

$129 24×18 in framed · paper from $35

Fry-Jefferson Map of Virginia, 1755

Joshua Fry & Peter Jefferson · 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
20×20 in	51×51 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
24×18 in	61×46 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
24×24 in	61×61 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
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
40×30 in	102×76 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
48×32 in	122×81 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office

Ellicott Plan of Washington DC, 1792

Before and after

Restoration notes

Hang them together — 10% off the second framed print