Rare Old Map of Nantucket, Massachusetts by USGS, 1945: Nantucket Harbor, Madaket & Sconset
Restored in our London workshop from the original map and printed to museum-grade archival standards. Full description
The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 20% off both. Choose three and the lowest-priced one is complimentary, a maximum saving of 33%.
Mix and match eligible standard maps and fine-art prints. No code is required; the offer is applied automatically at checkout.
Standard made-to-order configurations are included. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded.
Need delivery to different addresses? Contact us before ordering.The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 20% off both. Choose three and the lowest-priced one is complimentary, a maximum saving of 33%.
Mix and match eligible standard maps and fine-art prints. No code is required; the offer is applied automatically at checkout.
Standard made-to-order configurations are included. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded.
Need delivery to different addresses? Contact us before ordering.
Restored in London • Printed and framed in Australia
My maps are rare, museum-grade, restored old maps sourced from libraries, auction houses and private collections across the globe. Full description
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If you want to add a gift message, or a finish (jigsaw, aluminium board, etc.) that is not available here, please request it in the "order note" when you check out.
Every order is custom made, so if you need the size adjusted slightly, or printed on an unusual material, just let us know. We've done thousands of custom orders over the years, so there's (almost) nothing we can't manage.
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Published in 1945, the United States Geological Survey’s “Nantucket” presents the island at a detailed 1:31,680 scale, capturing one of New England’s...
Continue readingPublished in 1945, the United States Geological Survey’s “Nantucket” presents the island at a detailed 1:31,680 scale, capturing one of New England’s most storied maritime landscapes at a revealing mid-20th-century moment. The map encompasses Nantucket itself, its harbor, surrounding shoals and waters, and the settlements, roads, ponds, and coastal features that define the island’s distinctive geography. With Nantucket Sound to the north and the Atlantic Ocean pressing against its southern and eastern shores, the sheet frames the island as both a settled community and a vulnerable outpost of sand, surf, and sea lanes. Its careful topographic rendering offers a disciplined portrait of elevation, drainage, coastline, and habitation, balancing scientific precision with the quiet elegance of coastal cartography.
The USGS, founded in 1879, became the preeminent American institution for mapping the nation’s landforms, resources, and natural hazards, and this Nantucket sheet reflects the agency’s mature cartographic language. Roads, trails, contours, marshes, ponds, and shoreline details are organized with clarity, allowing the viewer to read the island not merely as a destination, but as a landscape shaped by geology, weather, and human use. The muted color palette—soft, practical, and understated—lends the map a refined visual character while preserving the authority of its topographical purpose. Each contour and symbol contributes to a broader understanding of Nantucket’s low relief, sandy terrain, coastal ponds, and exposed headlands.
Nantucket Harbor occupies a central place in the map’s geography and history, recalling the island’s long association with whaling, shipping, fishing, and coastal navigation. Brant Point, guarding the entrance to the harbor, appears as one of the island’s key maritime landmarks, while the town of Nantucket is shown as the principal settlement, its streets and routes gathered near the sheltered waters that sustained its prosperity. Farther west, Madaket marks the island’s more remote edge, facing tidal currents and open water. To the south, Surfside and Cisco Beach evoke a landscape of dunes, beaches, and Atlantic exposure, where recreation and natural forces meet along a shifting shoreline.
The eastern and northeastern reaches of the island are equally evocative. Sconset, or Siasconset, appears near the open Atlantic, a village long admired for its cottages, bluffside setting, and distinctive separation from the busier harbor town. Great Point extends toward Nantucket Sound, a narrow and dramatic coastal projection associated with navigation, wildlife, and the hazards of shoal water. Polpis, Tom Nevers, Miacomet, Hummock Pond, and The Ram Pasture enrich the map with names that preserve layers of local history, ecology, and settlement. These places reveal Nantucket as a mosaic of pastureland, ponds, beaches, heaths, and small communities rather than a single compact town.
As a 1945 topographical document, this map records Nantucket before many later patterns of development, conservation, tourism, and landscape change transformed the island’s appearance and use. Its roads and trails trace the practical routes of an insular community, while its ponds, marshes, beaches, and contours testify to a fragile coastal environment continually shaped by wind, erosion, tides, and storms. Nautical associations are implicit throughout, from harbor approaches and coastal points to the surrounding expanse of Nantucket Sound and the Atlantic. The result is a richly informative portrait of place: a scientific map that also evokes isolation, seafaring memory, and the enduring allure of one of Massachusetts’ most recognizable islands.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Nantucket
- Nantucket Harbor
- Madaket
- Sconset (Sconset Village)
- Surfside
- Brant Point
- Great Point
- Cisco Beach
- Miacomet
- Polpis
- Tom Nevers
- The Ram Pasture
- Hummock Pond
- Nantucket Sound
- Atlantic Ocean
- Numerous roads and trails
- Landmarks associated with nautical navigation
Historical context & cartographic details
- Produced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
- Historical topographical map at a scale of 1:31,680.
- Dated 1945.
- Shows Nantucket, Massachusetts, and the surrounding area.
- Uses a muted color palette with soft pastels to highlight topographical features.
- Includes detailed road and contour lines to show terrain and elevation changes.
- Depicts landforms, natural features, and varying elevations across the island.
- Reflects the geography and development of Nantucket in the mid-20th century.
- Provides a record of the island before later changes in land use, urban development, and natural landscapes.
Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.
Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.
This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.
The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.
Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.
Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.
With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.
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.
Published in 1945, the United States Geological Survey’s “Nantucket” presents the island at a detailed 1:31,680 scale, capturing one of New England’s most storied maritime landscapes at a revealing mid-20th-century moment. The map encompasses Nantucket itself, its harbor, surrounding shoals and waters, and the settlements, roads, ponds, and coastal features that define the island’s distinctive geography. With Nantucket Sound to the north and the Atlantic Ocean pressing against its southern and eastern shores, the sheet frames the island as both a settled community and a vulnerable outpost of sand, surf, and sea lanes. Its careful topographic rendering offers a disciplined portrait of elevation, drainage, coastline, and habitation, balancing scientific precision with the quiet elegance of coastal cartography.
The USGS, founded in 1879, became the preeminent American institution for mapping the nation’s landforms, resources, and natural hazards, and this Nantucket sheet reflects the agency’s mature cartographic language. Roads, trails, contours, marshes, ponds, and shoreline details are organized with clarity, allowing the viewer to read the island not merely as a destination, but as a landscape shaped by geology, weather, and human use. The muted color palette—soft, practical, and understated—lends the map a refined visual character while preserving the authority of its topographical purpose. Each contour and symbol contributes to a broader understanding of Nantucket’s low relief, sandy terrain, coastal ponds, and exposed headlands.
Nantucket Harbor occupies a central place in the map’s geography and history, recalling the island’s long association with whaling, shipping, fishing, and coastal navigation. Brant Point, guarding the entrance to the harbor, appears as one of the island’s key maritime landmarks, while the town of Nantucket is shown as the principal settlement, its streets and routes gathered near the sheltered waters that sustained its prosperity. Farther west, Madaket marks the island’s more remote edge, facing tidal currents and open water. To the south, Surfside and Cisco Beach evoke a landscape of dunes, beaches, and Atlantic exposure, where recreation and natural forces meet along a shifting shoreline.
The eastern and northeastern reaches of the island are equally evocative. Sconset, or Siasconset, appears near the open Atlantic, a village long admired for its cottages, bluffside setting, and distinctive separation from the busier harbor town. Great Point extends toward Nantucket Sound, a narrow and dramatic coastal projection associated with navigation, wildlife, and the hazards of shoal water. Polpis, Tom Nevers, Miacomet, Hummock Pond, and The Ram Pasture enrich the map with names that preserve layers of local history, ecology, and settlement. These places reveal Nantucket as a mosaic of pastureland, ponds, beaches, heaths, and small communities rather than a single compact town.
As a 1945 topographical document, this map records Nantucket before many later patterns of development, conservation, tourism, and landscape change transformed the island’s appearance and use. Its roads and trails trace the practical routes of an insular community, while its ponds, marshes, beaches, and contours testify to a fragile coastal environment continually shaped by wind, erosion, tides, and storms. Nautical associations are implicit throughout, from harbor approaches and coastal points to the surrounding expanse of Nantucket Sound and the Atlantic. The result is a richly informative portrait of place: a scientific map that also evokes isolation, seafaring memory, and the enduring allure of one of Massachusetts’ most recognizable islands.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Nantucket
- Nantucket Harbor
- Madaket
- Sconset (Sconset Village)
- Surfside
- Brant Point
- Great Point
- Cisco Beach
- Miacomet
- Polpis
- Tom Nevers
- The Ram Pasture
- Hummock Pond
- Nantucket Sound
- Atlantic Ocean
- Numerous roads and trails
- Landmarks associated with nautical navigation
Historical context & cartographic details
- Produced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
- Historical topographical map at a scale of 1:31,680.
- Dated 1945.
- Shows Nantucket, Massachusetts, and the surrounding area.
- Uses a muted color palette with soft pastels to highlight topographical features.
- Includes detailed road and contour lines to show terrain and elevation changes.
- Depicts landforms, natural features, and varying elevations across the island.
- Reflects the geography and development of Nantucket in the mid-20th century.
- Provides a record of the island before later changes in land use, urban development, and natural landscapes.
Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.
Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.
This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.
The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.
Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.
Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.
With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.
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 10-year guarantee.
Our standard frame is a gallery-style black ash hardwood frame, with a simple, modern look. It is approximately 20mm (0.8in) wide. You can also view some lovely customer photos of framed maps and art.
We use super-clear acrylic glazing, also known as Perspex or Acrylite, instead of traditional glass. It is lighter, safer, and has lower reflectivity, giving the artwork a clearer, cleaner appearance.
Six standard frame colours are available at no extra cost: black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white, and antique gold. Custom framing and mounting/matting is also available for customers looking for something more specific.
Most maps, art prints, and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced wooden box frame, and then float the piece within a wooden outer frame. The finished result is beautifully presented, with no glazing between you and the artwork.
All frames are supplied ready to hang, with either string or brackets fitted to the back. Very large frames will include heavy-duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.
We can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag, and other materials.
If you would prefer to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read our size guide before ordering.
Every Unique Maps piece begins with an authentic cartographic source or an original design from our London studio.
For our historic maps, we source rare originals from libraries, archives, auction houses and private collections around the world. We carefully restore each map for print—repairing age-related damage, balancing colour and improving clarity while preserving its original detail, texture and character.
Once restored, the map is prepared for your chosen size and finish. Your piece is then printed and, where selected, framed close to its delivery destination.
Our map prints use acid-free 200gsm archival matte paper and fade-resistant pigment inks, creating a rich, non-glossy finish designed to last. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.
Canvas, cotton-rag and other specialist presentations are also available. Learn more about our materials and finishes.
Personalising your map
You can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. For personalised designs, we send a proof before printing and you can request changes before approval.
For more complex bespoke commissions, contact our design team.
Original or Aged
Choose Original for true-to-source colour, or Aged for a warmer, richer antique character created with our specialist ageing process. See examples of our Aged maps.
We’ve been restoring and producing maps and art prints since 1984, and we stand behind every piece.
Every order is covered by our 10-year guarantee and damage-free delivery guarantee. If your piece arrives damaged, we’ll replace or remake it free of charge. If anything else isn’t right, contact our workshop team and we’ll put it right promptly.
See our returns and refund policy for full details.
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