This is a small section of a nine-fold map of Boston that Don Cresswell brought to the Ellis Show. “It’s rare, and it’s wonderful,” he told me. The map, printed in 1829, was based on “an actual survey by John G. Hales,” the most accurate cartographer of Boston of his day. He surveyed every street in 1819 and 1820 and published the definitive atlas of the city. In this map, he included the surrounding countryside from Salem to Scituate, and noted details such as political divisions, roads, taverns, meeting houses and the homes of prominent citizens. A real snapshot of Boston at the beginning of the nineteenth century. $2,400.

The Philadelphia Print Shop, 8441 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia, PA, 19118. (215) 242-4750, cresswell@philaprintshop.com.