1888 Leavitt Pictorial Map of the White Mountains

Complete with frightening bears, this is Franklin and Victor Leavitt's idiosyncratic 1888 pictorial map of New Hampshire's White Mountains. The folksy map depicts the region from the Androscoggin River to the Connecticut River and from Lake Winnipesaukee to Concord, Vermont. Drawn in Leavitt's own quirky style, the charm of this map is immediately apparent. Created with a tourist in mind, individual hotels and great estates are illustrated in profile throughout the map. Local history abounds, some of which is actual, some of which is pure legend, many of which involve the daring exploits of locals hunting. A view of the White Mountains is situated in the center, with the illustrated peaks labeled and their elevations given (though rounded to the nearest 100 feet). Roads and railroads crisscross the region, nearly all of which are labeled, and illustrations of horse-drawn carriages adorn the roads and while trains run along their tracks. Views of four different waterfalls are situated in each of the corners and an inset map of the rail routes from Boston is included on the lower right.

Census and Publication History

This map was drawn by Franklin Leavitt and originally published by him in 1882. It is part of a series of White Mountain maps published by Leavitt between 1852 and 1888. The present example is the second state, which was published by his son Victor Leavitt in 1888. Leavitt sold the maps himself at grand hotels and even train stations. Examples of the map appear in several institutional collections, but all of Leavitt's maps are rare on the private market.