1865 Dripps Map or Plan of New York City and Vicinity

This is a scarce large format 1865 map or plan of New York City by Matthew Dripps. It covers the entire island of Manhattan as well as parts of Brooklyn, Queens, Hoboken and Jersey City. The map shows the city in considerable detail with all streets and, in Manhattan, block numbers clearly shown. The northern portion of Manhattan is included in an inset along the left border. The map labels most of the piers in lower Manhattan and shows numerous individual buildings with identifying numbers. Where Columbia University now stands, this map reveals a 19th century Lunatic Asylum. In Queens, Dripps labels Hunters Point and shows the beginnings of the Long Island Railroad. Astoria is delineated. Central Park is mapped in detail exhibiting the fully glory of Olmsted's plan.

The mid-19th century was a dynamic period in the urban development of New York City. Under the governance of Tammany Hall and the corrupt 'Boss' Tweed, New York City had become a mélange of extremes. By 1864 the Five Points had devolved into the world's most notoriously dangerous slum, while further north the high ideals and design genius of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux created Central Park, the world's first and possibly finest planned public recreation area. Meanwhile, across the East River, Brooklyn, Greenpoint, and Williamsburg consolidated into a single city, becoming in the process the third largest city in the United States, and setting the stage for the emergence of the modern New York City.

Dated 1865 under the title, the copyright at the bottom left reads 'Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1865 by M. Dripps in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York'. Prepared by Matthew Dripps for issue in David Valentine's 1865 Manual of the Common Council of New York. This is an exceptional example of this map. Usually, the way that this map was bound into the guide, the left border would have been cut off. With this example, the left border is intact. If someone is looking to purchase an example of this map, this is the one to buy, because it is in exceptional condition and this is the only example we have seen that has the left border intact.