Titled Map Of The Town Of Ipswich, County Of Essex, this 1832 survey by Philander Anderson captures the urban fabric of a venerable New England community at the precise moment Massachusetts required towns to commission accurate maps. Among the earliest American lithographic town plans, it was printed by Annin, Smith & Co., in concert with Pendleton’s and in the spirit of Senefelder’s revolutionary process, yielding a document that is both technically advanced and richly informative. An ornate compass rose anchors the composition, while the inset plan of Ipswich Village deepens the portrait of civic life beyond the center. For collectors of city maps, its blend of cadastral precision and early lithographic artistry is unusually compelling.

The map’s power lies in its meticulous cadastral detail. Land ownership plots are crisply delineated and named, revealing patterns of settlement, inheritance, and municipal planning with unusual clarity. Hachures articulate the topographical relief, allowing the viewer to read the slope and contour that guided road alignments and property boundaries. Rivers, roads, and noted landmarks are carefully labeled, and the town’s limits are set off with unmistakable definition—an invaluable baseline for understanding the jurisdictional history of Ipswich within Essex County. The monochrome palette heightens legibility, letting the fine survey lines and labels convey a dense narrative of place without distraction.

As a city map, it excels in rendering the lived geography of streets and thoroughfares. Main Street and South Main organize the commercial spine, joined by Market and High Streets, where civic and mercantile life converged. Central, Washington, and River Streets thread outward to residential and waterside zones, while Essex Road, County Road, and Salem Road speak to regional exchange. The Newburyport Turnpike strides across the sheet as a purposeful artery, balanced by Topsfield Road, Argilla Road, and Mills Road, which knit together town and countryside. Pine, Pleasant, and Willow Streets register more intimate, local circulation. Together, this network illuminates the hierarchy of movement that shaped Ipswich’s economic and social rhythms.

The inset plan of Ipswich Village is a scholar’s delight and a collector’s bonus. By isolating a distinct neighborhood fabric, the inset reveals a secondary nucleus of settlement—its parcels, lanes, and connections plotted with the same care as the town center. It allows for comparative reading: how property sizes vary, how roads respond to terrain, and where civic or commercial clusters take root. This dual-scale treatment is precisely what makes a city map notable: it invites close study of neighborhoods while preserving the broader urban context, capturing the interplay between core and satellite spaces that defined early 19th-century town life.

Philander Anderson’s authorship situates the map at the forefront of a methodological shift in northeastern cartography. Responding to the Commonwealth’s 1830 mandate, Anderson unites disciplined ground survey with the reproducible clarity of lithography—an evolution realized through printers such as Annin, Smith & Co. and Pendleton’s, and indebted to Senefelder’s innovations. The result is a town plan that is both empirically rigorous and aesthetically composed, where hachured relief, labeled parcels, and precisely named streets cohere into an authoritative civic record. For connoisseurs of American city mapping, it stands as a touchstone of the era’s craft and a lucid, time-locked portrait of Ipswich at work and at home.

Streets and roads on this map

• Argilla Road
• Central Street
• County Road
• Essex Road
• High Street
• Main Street
• Market Street
• Mills Road
• Newburyport Turnpike
• Pine Street
• Pleasant Street
• River Street
• Salem Road
• South Main Street
• Topsfield Road
• Washington Street
• Willow Street

Notable Features & Landmarks

• Hachures indicating topographical relief
• Natural landmarks such as rivers and roads
• An inset plan of Ipswich Village
• Land ownership plots
• An ornate compass rose
• Labels identifying various features and landmarks
• Clear delineation of boundaries

Historical and design context

• Date of creation: 1832
• Surveyed and drawn by Philander Anderson; among the early American lithographic maps
• Printed by Annin, Smith & Co., along with Pendleton's and Senefelder
• Created during Massachusetts’s post-1830 mandate for accurate town surveys
• Monochrome design with hachures for topographical relief
• Emphasis on land ownership and topographical features reflecting early American municipal planning
• Historically significant as a key document illustrating the transition to lithographic printing techniques in early 19th-century America
• Philander Anderson recognized for advancing more accurate, detailed survey methodologies in the northeastern U.S.

Please double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.

This is a very large map that must be ordered at a large size, so that you can easily make out all of the details.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 90in (230cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 24x36in (60x90cm) version of this map.

The fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.

If you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the best old maps to see if something else catches your eye.

Please contact me to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.

This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.

This map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.

Many of our maps and art prints are chosen as thoughtful gifts for homes, offices, studies and meaningful places.

Choose a framed option for the easiest ready-to-hang gift, or choose an unframed print if the recipient may prefer to select their own frame.

We make orders locally in 23 countries around the world, so gifts can often be produced close to the recipient. This helps them arrive faster, travel more safely, and avoid customs or import duty surprises.

• We can deliver directly to the recipient
• Framed pieces arrive ready to hang
• Unframed prints are carefully packed in a strong protective tube
• Almost every order is made locally, for faster, safer gifting
• 90-day returns give the recipient time to decide

If you are not sure what to choose, please contact us. We can help you pick the right map, size, finish or delivery option.

Most orders are made locally and delivered in around 2–3 working days, depending on the product, size and destination.

We print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world, so your order is usually made close to you or your recipient. That means faster delivery, less time in transit, and no customs or import duty surprises.

Personalised and customised pieces usually take an extra 1–2 working days, because we prepare your design and send it to you for approval before printing.

Very large framed orders can take a little longer, as they need extra care in production and delivery.

Every order is carefully packaged: unframed prints are sent in a strong protective tube, while framed pieces are securely packed with protective materials around the frame.

If you need your order by a particular date, please contact us before ordering. We’ll check the best production route and delivery option for your location.

Express delivery is available at checkout for most countries. Next-day delivery is available in the UK, US, Singapore and the UAE.

Your order is covered by our 90-day returns policy and 5-year guarantee.

Read our full delivery and local production guide

My standard frame is a gallery style black ash hardwood frame. It is simple and quite modern looking. My standard frame is around 20mm (0.8in) wide.

I use super-clear acrylic (perspex/acrylite) for the frame glass. It's lighter and safer than glass - and it looks better, as the reflectivity is lower.

Six standard frame colours are available for free (black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white and antique gold). Custom framing and mounting/matting is available if you're looking for something else.

Most maps, art and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte (not shiny) cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced box wood frame, and then 'float' the piece within a wood frame. The end result is quite beautiful, and there's no glazing to get in the way.

All frames are provided "ready to hang", with either a string or brackets on the back. Very large frames will have heavy duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.

See some examples of my framed maps and framed canvas maps.

Alternatively, I can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag and other materials.

If you want to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read my size guide first.

My maps are extremely high quality reproductions of original maps.

I source original, rare maps from libraries, auction houses and private collections around the world, restore them at my London workshop, and then use specialist giclée inks and printers to create beautiful maps that look even better than the original.

My maps are printed on acid-free archival matte (not glossy) paper that feels very high quality and almost like card. In technical terms the paper weight/thickness is 10mil/200gsm. It's perfect for framing.

I print with Epson ultrachrome giclée UV fade resistant pigment inks - some of the best inks you can find.

I can also make maps on canvas, cotton rag and other exotic materials.

Learn more about The Unique Maps Co.

Map personalisation

If you're looking for the perfect anniversary or housewarming gift, I can personalise your map to make it truly unique. For example, I can add a short message, or highlight an important location, or add your family's coat of arms.

The options are almost infinite. Please see my map personalisation page for some wonderful examples of what's possible.

To order a personalised map, select "personalise your map" before adding it to your basket.

Get in touch if you're looking for more complex customisations and personalisations.

Map ageing

I have been asked hundreds of times over the years by customers if they could buy a map that looks even older.

Well, now you can, by selecting Aged before you add a map to your basket.

All the product photos you see on this page show the map in its Original form. This is what the map looks like today.

If you select Aged, I will age your map by hand, using a special and unique process developed through years of studying old maps, talking to researchers to understand the chemistry of aging paper, and of course... lots of practice!

If you're unsure, stick to the Original colour of the map. If you want something a bit darker and older looking, go for Aged.

See some amazing examples of Aged maps.

Se non sei soddisfatto del tuo ordine per qualsiasi motivo, contattami per un rimborso senza problemi. Si prega di consultare la nostra politica di reso e rimborso per ulteriori informazioni.

Sono molto sicuro che ti piacerà la tua mappa restaurata o la stampa d'arte. Lo faccio dal 1984. Sono un venditore Etsy a 5 stelle. Ho venduto decine di migliaia di mappe e stampe d'arte e ho oltre 5.000 recensioni reali a 5 stelle.

Utilizzo un processo unico per restaurare mappe e opere d'arte che richiede molto tempo e lavoro. Trovare le mappe e le illustrazioni originali può richiedere mesi. Utilizzo tecnologia all'avanguardia e incredibilmente costosa per scannerizzare e restaurarle. Di conseguenza, garantisco che le mie mappe e stampe d'arte siano superiori alle altre - ecco perché posso offrire un rimborso senza problemi.

Quasi tutte le mie mappe e stampe d'arte sembrano fantastiche a grandi dimensioni (200 cm, 6,5 piedi+) e posso anche incorniciarle e consegnarle a te, tramite un corriere speciale per oggetti di grandi dimensioni. Contattami per discutere delle tue esigenze specifiche.