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Source Description

Made in Boston: Bonner's map depicts Boston before centuries of landfill transformed its coastline. His distinctive design combines plan and perspective views to convey maximum information and achieve decorative effect. It shows clearly the patterns of settlement, dense in the North End and along Cornhill and King Streets but thinning toward the south and west. The abundance of wharves, shipyards and ropewalks reflects Boston's flourishing maritime economy. Captain Bonner was more comfortable drawing sailing vessels than topography: the shipping in the harbor is carefully rendered, whereas simple bumps near the Common represent the "Trimontane" that once dominated the town. Beneath Our Feet: The city of Boston was settled by Europeans in 1630; however, the area had been home to Native Americans for thousands of years prior. This area, known as Shawmut to indigenous residents, was a peninsula that jutted out into Boston Harbor and was connected to the mainland by a thin strip called Boston Neck. This early 18th-century map illustrates the colonial "shape" of Boston nearly 100 years after Puritan colonists arrived, and depicts areas where Native objects were discovered during archaeological digs. Both the spear point and copper arrowhead displayed here were found in the Boston Common, while the fishweir stakes were found in nearby Back Bay.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
9s161f21f
label
The town of Boston in New England
core
obj
dtoType
map
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
9s161f21f
contentType
map
stage
normalized
title
The town of Boston in New England
description
Made in Boston: Bonner's map depicts Boston before centuries of landfill transformed its coastline. His distinctive design combines plan and perspective views to convey maximum information and achieve decorative effect. It shows clearly the patterns of settlement, dense in the North End and along Cornhill and King Streets but thinning toward the south and west. The abundance of wharves, shipyards and ropewalks reflects Boston's flourishing maritime economy. Captain Bonner was more comfortable drawing sailing vessels than topography: the shipping in the harbor is carefully rendered, whereas simple bumps near the Common represent the "Trimontane" that once dominated the town. Beneath Our Feet: The city of Boston was settled by Europeans in 1630; however, the area had been home to Native Americans for thousands of years prior. This area, known as Shawmut to indigenous residents, was a peninsula that jutted out into Boston Harbor and was connected to the mainland by a thin strip called Boston Neck. This early 18th-century map illustrates the colonial "shape" of Boston nearly 100 years after Puritan colonists arrived, and depicts areas where Native objects were discovered during archaeological digs. Both the spear point and copper arrowhead displayed here were found in the Boston Common, while the fishweir stakes were found in nearby Back Bay.
date
["[1723–1733]"]
year
1723
rights
No known copyright restrictions.
rightsUri
No known restrictions on use.
reuseAllowed
no restrictions
language
English
identifierLocal
06_01_003817
creators
Bonner, John, ca. 1643-1726
institution
Boston Public Library
collections
Urban Maps
Boston and New England Maps
Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center Collection
subjects
Boston (Mass.)--Maps--Early works to 1800
subjectsGeographic
Boston
Massachusetts
North and Central America
Suffolk (county)
United States
genreBasic
Maps
typeOfResource
Cartographic
country
United States
state
Massachusetts
county
Suffolk
city
Boston
pageCount
1
source
import
pubPlace
Boston, Mass
publisher
Willm. Price
Source extras
institutionArkId
sf268508b
collectionArkId
9s1621613
schema:latitude
42.35
schema:longitude
-71.05
extent
1 map ; 43 x 59 cm.
notes
Oriented with north toward the upper right.
Index: A-M. a-h.
"Aetatis suae 80" under author's name.
"Engraven and printed by Fra. Dewing. Boston N.E. 1722 Sold by Capt. John Bonner and Willm. Price against ye Town House where may be had all sorts of prints, mapps &c."
Boston Public Library copy is an original, previously unrecorded state. Christ Church, fig. "M," is a unique addition to the index. Date of map is between 1723 and 1733.
hasTranscription
no
dcId
9s161f21f
type
map
Single page context