Index Map Dorchester, West Roxbury, Brighton is a lucid administrative portrait of Boston at the turn of the twentieth century, dated 1899 and keyed to wards 16, 20, 22, 23, 24, and 25. Rendered in a refined palette with firm red boundary lines, the map clarifies the civic architecture of a city that had grown dramatically through annexation and streetcar expansion. Dorchester’s broad sweep toward the harbor, the long arc of West Roxbury across Boston’s southwestern hills, and the river-bent precincts of Brighton are each differentiated by color, so that political districts read instantly against the underlying street grid. An inset isolates Brighton for closer study, acknowledging the density of streets, rail lines, and river crossings that demanded special attention from surveyors and city officials. As an index to its atlas, the sheet functions as a master key: ward numbers shine as navigational beacons, guiding the eye from neighborhood to neighborhood and from boulevard to back lane. It is both an object of clarity and a witness to transition, capturing Boston as it reorganized itself—politically, socially, and spatially—on the eve of the modern metropolis.

The map bears the hallmark rigor of JP Brown Co., a firm renowned for urban planning and land-ownership cartography during a period when Boston’s governance, transit, and real estate markets were tightly intertwined. Brown’s practice responded to the needs of assessors, engineers, attorneys, and developers who required a harmonized picture of jurisdiction, infrastructure, and parceling. The company’s color logic and crisp red ward outlines speak to a broader philosophy: the city should be legible to those tasked with building and regulating it. In 1899, with electrified streetcars proliferating and new parkways being cut, Brown’s maps supplied a common language to reconcile growth with order. The index format amplifies that purpose. By condensing the metropolis into an intelligible scheme of numbered wards, it allowed immediate cross-reference to more granular plates, turning bureaucratic abstractions into graspable geography. Here, politics, property, and planning converge on paper as seamlessly as avenues meet at a square.

Dorchester occupies a commanding role, its reach from the Neponset River to the ridges near Franklin Park stitched together by the arterial lines of Dorchester Avenue, Washington Street, and Blue Hill Avenue. The ward numbering underscores a neighborhood in motion, where nineteenth-century village identities—Savin Hill, Fields Corner, Codman Square, Upham’s Corner—are nested within the formal logic of municipal districts. Along the harbor edge, the older maritime economy had yielded to a more diversified landscape of factories, car barns, and dense triple-deckers, their patterns hinted at by the tight mesh of streets. Inland, the map frames the late-century promise of orderly urbanization: broad, rectilinear blocks giving way to the curving approaches of parkland near Franklin Park, centerpiece of the emerging Emerald Necklace. By delineating boundaries and naming thoroughfares with unblinking precision, Brown’s atlas index reveals how Dorchester’s civic identity cohered after annexation—less a single place than a federation of town centers connected by rails and roads, all now legible under a single municipal canopy.

To the southwest, West Roxbury’s wards reflect the legacy of an annexed town that once encompassed today’s West Roxbury, Roslindale, and Jamaica Plain. The map fixes this complex territory with measured exactness: Centre Street and Washington Street march through village cores; rail corridors converge at Forest Hills; and the sinuous greens of the Arnold Arboretum register as a defining landmark of enlightened urban design. Managed by Harvard and integrated into Olmsted’s park system, the Arboretum and adjacent parkways signaled a new civic ideal—healthful landscapes threaded into growing neighborhoods. Brown’s ward geometry frames these amenities within the apparatus of representation and taxation, capturing the moment when suburban villas, triple-deckers, and streetcar depots negotiated space on the same grid. The index makes plain how district lines tracked both natural features and settlement patterns, absorbing country lanes into a metropolitan order while preserving the neighborhood names that residents used every day. In doing so, it maps not merely streets, but the governance of daily life.

The Brighton inset is a masterstroke of practical cartography, isolating a dense crossroads of industry, transport, and riverine edge. Here the Charles River arcs along the boundary, bridged by North Beacon and Western Avenue, while the Boston & Albany Railroad lattices through Allston-Brighton toward railyards and warehouses. This was the district of markets and movement—heirs to the famed cattle trade and, by 1899, a hub of electrified streetcar routes feeding residential growth along Harvard Avenue and beyond. The index labels wards 22 through 25 with crystalline economy, revealing how political districts organized a landscape where new boulevards, the Chestnut Hill Reservoir’s waterworks, and the expanding Commonwealth Avenue corridor were recalibrating daily rhythms. Brown’s color fields disentangle these layers, making the inset a lens for reading continuity and change: a river city pivoting from nineteenth-century commerce to twentieth-century connectivity. By clarifying Brighton’s compressed topography, the map transforms a tangle of tracks and streets into a comprehensible civic diagram—an indispensable key to Boston’s western gate.

Map context

• Name of the map: Index Map Dorchester, West Roxbury, Brighton
• Date of creation: 1899
• Mapmaker or publisher: JP Brown Co.
• Interesting context about the mapmaker: JP Brown Co. was known for creating detailed maps that catered to urban planning and land ownership during a significant period of growth in urban centers like Boston.
• Countries/regions/provinces/counties shown: The map focuses on Boston, Massachusetts, specifically

Please double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.

This map looks great at every size, but I always recommend going for a larger size if you have space. That way you can easily make out all of the details.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 70in (180cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

Please note: the labels on this map are hard to read if you order a map that is 20in (50cm) or smaller. The map is still very attractive, but if you would like to read the map easily, please buy a larger size.

The model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this map.

The fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.

If you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the best old maps to see if something else catches your eye.

Please contact me to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.

This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.

This map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.

For most orders, delivery time is about 3 working days. Personalised and customised products take longer, as I have to do the personalisation and send it to you for approval, which usually takes 1 or 2 days.

Please note that very large framed orders usually take longer to make and deliver. 

If you need your order to arrive by a certain date, please contact me before you order so that we can find the best way of making sure you get your order in time.

I print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world. This means your order will be made locally, which cuts down on delivery time and ensures that it won't be damaged during delivery. You'll never pay customs or import duty, and we'll put less CO2 into the air.

All of my maps and art prints are well packaged and sent in a rugged tube if unframed, or surrounded by foam if framed.

I try to send out all orders within 1 or 2 days of receiving your order, though some products (like face masks, mugs and tote bags) can take longer to make.

If you select Express Delivery at checkout your order we will prioritise your order and send it out by 1-day courier (Fedex, DHL, UPS, Parcelforce).

Next Day delivery is also available in some countries (US, UK, Singapore, UAE) but please try to order early in the day so that we can get it sent out on time.

Read my full delivery and local production guide

My standard frame is a gallery style black ash hardwood frame. It is simple and quite modern looking. My standard frame is around 20mm (0.8in) wide.

I use super-clear acrylic (perspex/acrylite) for the frame glass. It's lighter and safer than glass - and it looks better, as the reflectivity is lower.

Six standard frame colours are available for free (black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white and antique gold). Custom framing and mounting/matting is available if you're looking for something else.

Most maps, art and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte (not shiny) cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced box wood frame, and then 'float' the piece within a wood frame. The end result is quite beautiful, and there's no glazing to get in the way.

All frames are provided "ready to hang", with either a string or brackets on the back. Very large frames will have heavy duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.

See some examples of my framed maps and framed canvas maps.

Alternatively, I can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag and other materials.

If you want to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read my size guide first.

Alcune delle mie vecchie mappe sono ora disponibili come tele incorniciate. Per favore contattami se desideri ordinare una dimensione che non è disponibile nel mio negozio.

Le vecchie mappe su tela sono un'alternativa interessante alle mappe incorniciate in modo convenzionale. A seconda del tuo gusto personale e dell'arredamento della stanza, le mappe su tela possono "risaltare" un po' di più rispetto a una mappa incorniciata.

Scopri di più sulle mie mappe su tela incorniciate.

My maps are extremely high quality reproductions of original maps.

I source original, rare maps from libraries, auction houses and private collections around the world, restore them at my London workshop, and then use specialist giclée inks and printers to create beautiful maps that look even better than the original.

My maps are printed on acid-free archival matte (not glossy) paper that feels very high quality and almost like card. In technical terms the paper weight/thickness is 10mil/200gsm. It's perfect for framing.

I print with Epson ultrachrome giclée UV fade resistant pigment inks - some of the best inks you can find.

I can also make maps on canvas, cotton rag and other exotic materials.

Learn more about The Unique Maps Co.

Map personalisation

If you're looking for the perfect anniversary or housewarming gift, I can personalise your map to make it truly unique. For example, I can add a short message, or highlight an important location, or add your family's coat of arms.

The options are almost infinite. Please see my map personalisation page for some wonderful examples of what's possible.

To order a personalised map, select "personalise your map" before adding it to your basket.

Get in touch if you're looking for more complex customisations and personalisations.

Map ageing

I have been asked hundreds of times over the years by customers if they could buy a map that looks even older.

Well, now you can, by selecting Aged before you add a map to your basket.

All the product photos you see on this page show the map in its Original form. This is what the map looks like today.

If you select Aged, I will age your map by hand, using a special and unique process developed through years of studying old maps, talking to researchers to understand the chemistry of aging paper, and of course... lots of practice!

If you're unsure, stick to the Original colour of the map. If you want something a bit darker and older looking, go for Aged.

See some amazing examples of Aged maps.

Se non sei soddisfatto del tuo ordine per qualsiasi motivo, contattami per un rimborso senza problemi. Si prega di consultare la nostra politica di reso e rimborso per ulteriori informazioni.

Sono molto sicuro che ti piacerà la tua mappa restaurata o la stampa d'arte. Lo faccio dal 1984. Sono un venditore Etsy a 5 stelle. Ho venduto decine di migliaia di mappe e stampe d'arte e ho oltre 5.000 recensioni reali a 5 stelle.

Utilizzo un processo unico per restaurare mappe e opere d'arte che richiede molto tempo e lavoro. Trovare le mappe e le illustrazioni originali può richiedere mesi. Utilizzo tecnologia all'avanguardia e incredibilmente costosa per scannerizzare e restaurarle. Di conseguenza, garantisco che le mie mappe e stampe d'arte siano superiori alle altre - ecco perché posso offrire un rimborso senza problemi.

Quasi tutte le mie mappe e stampe d'arte sembrano fantastiche a grandi dimensioni (200 cm, 6,5 piedi+) e posso anche incorniciarle e consegnarle a te, tramite un corriere speciale per oggetti di grandi dimensioni. Contattami per discutere delle tue esigenze specifiche.