1851 John Tallis Map of Boston, Massachusetts

A beautiful example of John Tallis and John Rapkin's 1851 decorative map of Boston, Massachusetts. The map covers downtown Boston prior to the Back Bay landfill projects, extending from Dover Street to the Charles River. Parts of adjacent South Boston, Cambridge, and Charleston are also included. The map identifies all streets, piers, parks, and important buildings. A beautifully engraved and dramatic vignette view of Boston fro macros Boston Harbor appears in the lower left quadrant. A secondary vignette, depicting the Bunker Hill Monument, appears in the lower right. A tertiary vignette, in the upper right between Cambridge and Boston Proper, illustrates the State House. The map is surrounded by an elaborate decorative border. Tallis's city plans did not appear in all editions of his atlas and so have today become quite rare. Tallis prepared this map for inclusion in R. Montgomery Martin's Illustrated Atlas, And Modern History of The World.

Cartographer

John Tallis (November 7, 1817 - June 3, 1876) was an English map publisher and bookseller. Born in Stourbridge, Worcestershire, he worked in his father's Birmingham agency from 1836 to 1842. Around 1838, Tallis published a collection of London Street Views and entered into a partnership with his brother Frederick Tallis from 1842 to 1849. Tallis and Company also published the Illustrated Atlas of the World (1849). Also in 1849, Tallis traveled to New York City, where he established agencies in 6 American cities. After returning from New York, Tallis paid his brother £10,000 for his share of the business and subsequently operated as John Tallis and Company until 1854. By 1853, John Tallis and Company had agencies in 26 cities in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada and employed over 500 people. On February 24, 1854, Tallis brought on a new partner, Ephraim Tipton Brain (1791 - 1876), forming the London Printing and Publishing Company. After a series of setbacks, however, Tallis had to sell his estate and by 1861 was declared bankrupt. Friends and former employees kept him afloat, but none of his 'various ambitious projects' proved lucrative. Tallis married Jane Ball on December 6, 1836, in Birmingham, and they lived together until she died in 1862. Tallis remarried on June 27, 1863, to Mary Stephens, with whom he had two children.   Further Details...

Source

Montgomery Martin, R., The Illustrated Atlas, And Modern History Of The World, (London) 1851.    

Condition

Very Good. Some mat burn around outer margin. Like most Tallis maps this map was bound tightly into the atlas and exhibits some minor damage at the very top of the title cartouche. Blank on verso.

References

OCLC 316615883.