1950 Miller Pictorial Map of Cape Cod, Massachusetts

This is a c. 1950 F. J. Miller pictorial map of Cape Cod, including Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. The map celebrates Cape Cod, its history of seamanship, and the restful qualities of beachfront life: artists painting picturesque scenery, bucolic coastal scenes, and gentlemanly sporting life.

A Closer Look

The map depicts from central Massachusetts to the Atlantic Ocean and from Provincetown and Duxbury to Woods Hole. Hyannisport, Provincetown, Barnstable, and Otis Air Force Base are identified. New Bedford, noted here as an 'old whaling town', is highlighted by a vignette of a whale knocking two men out of their rowboat. A fisherman taking his catch to shore in a rowboat dominates the center of Cape Cod Bay. The decorative title cartouche features a fishing net and two seagulls. The whole is surrounded by a rope motif border alluding to maritime heritage.

Publication History and Census

This map is copyrighted to F. J. Miller of 1045 High Street, Westwood, Massachusetts. The OCLC records only one example, located at Harvard. This is only the third example we are aware to have appeared on the private market. The W.E.B. Du Bois Library of UMass Amherst has a nearly identical map ascribed to one Mary E. Murray, but without Miller's copyright. The main difference is that the Miller map has a red border and was printed using a three-color lithograph process whereas the Murray examples use a two-color process.