Rare Old Map of Block Island, Rhode Island by USGS, 1957: New Shoreham, Great Salt Pond & Mohegan Bluffs
Restored in our London workshop from the original 1973 map and printed to museum-grade archival standards. Full description
The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 20% off both. Choose three and the lowest-priced one is complimentary, a maximum saving of 33%.
Mix and match eligible standard maps and fine-art prints. No code is required; the offer is applied automatically at checkout.
Standard made-to-order configurations are included. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded.
Need delivery to different addresses? Contact us before ordering.The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 20% off both. Choose three and the lowest-priced one is complimentary, a maximum saving of 33%.
Mix and match eligible standard maps and fine-art prints. No code is required; the offer is applied automatically at checkout.
Standard made-to-order configurations are included. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded.
Need delivery to different addresses? Contact us before ordering.
Restored from the original 1973 map and printed to museum-grade archival standards. Full description
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Gift message & custom finish
If you want to add a gift message, or a finish (jigsaw, aluminium board, etc.) that is not available here, please request it in the "order note" when you check out.
Every order is custom made, so if you need the size adjusted slightly, or printed on an unusual material, just let us know. We've done thousands of custom orders over the years, so there's (almost) nothing we can't manage.
You can also contact us before you order, if you prefer!
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Titled “Block Island,” this US Geological Survey topographical map was originally created in 1957 and issued with a 1973 imprint, preserving a...
Continue readingTitled “Block Island,” this US Geological Survey topographical map was originally created in 1957 and issued with a 1973 imprint, preserving a mid-twentieth-century portrait of Rhode Island’s storied offshore island. At a detailed 1:24,000 scale, it presents Block Island not as a picturesque abstraction but as a measured landscape of roads, ponds, beaches, bluffs, farms, and maritime landmarks. The island’s compact geography is framed by the Atlantic Ocean and Block Island Sound, while the map’s disciplined USGS style gives equal importance to settlement, shoreline, elevation, and infrastructure. New Shoreham, the island’s only town, anchors the human geography, surrounded by a finely observed pattern of coastal routes, private roads, open spaces, and named natural features.
The US Geological Survey brought a distinctive authority to American cartography, combining scientific precision with a restrained visual language that remains instantly recognizable. Founded in the nineteenth century to map the nation’s geology and natural resources, the USGS became especially known for its topographic quadrangles: maps designed for engineers, planners, educators, hikers, and anyone needing to understand the physical shape of the land. On this map, contour lines trace Block Island’s subtle but dramatic relief, from low-lying beaches and ponds to the elevated southern headlands. The color palette distinguishes land, water, built features, and terrain with clarity, creating a document that is both utilitarian and quietly elegant.
Block Island’s coastline is the map’s great organizing feature, and the cartography reveals how varied that shoreline truly is. Sandy Point extends from the island’s northern end toward North Light, while West Beach and Crescent Beach define long, open strands exposed to wind, tide, and Atlantic weather. Old Harbor appears as a central maritime gateway, historically vital to ferries, fishing, and seasonal visitors. Great Salt Pond, nearly enclosed within the island’s interior, is one of the most striking features: a sheltered body of water that shaped Block Island’s navigation, ecology, and development. Smaller ponds, including Lakes Pond and Ensign Pond, add further texture to the island’s glacial and coastal landscape.
The map also captures Block Island’s celebrated high ground and dramatic southern scenery. The Mohegan Bluffs and nearby Bluffs are rendered through contours that make clear the abrupt meeting of elevated land and sea, an iconic edge of the island where geology, legend, and ocean weather converge. South Light, also known as Southeast Lighthouse, stands in this commanding southern landscape, a landmark of navigation and preservation. Rodman’s Hollow, Mitchell Farm, Clay Head, Ball O’Fire, and other named places evoke an island still strongly shaped by open land, footpaths, farmsteads, and vernacular place names. Roads such as Corn Neck Road, Beach Avenue, and North Lighthouse Road connect these features in a sparse but legible network.
As a historical document, this map offers a compelling view of Block Island before many later patterns of development, tourism, conservation, and environmental change became more pronounced. Its mid-century survey information preserves the placement of the Coast Guard Station, lighthouses, beaches, farms, ponds, and local roads at a particular moment in the island’s modern history. For collectors, it is especially appealing because Block Island is both geographically self-contained and culturally resonant: a small, wind-shaped Atlantic world rendered with scientific care. The map’s topographic detail invites close reading, whether following a road toward North Light, studying the contours above Mohegan Bluffs, or tracing the fragile boundary between dunes, pond, harbor, and open sea.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Block Island
- New Shoreham
- Great Salt Pond
- North Light
- South Light / Southeast Lighthouse
- Coast Guard Station
- Sandy Point
- Crescent Beach
- Ball O’Fire
- Old Harbor
- West Beach
- Clay Head
- Rodman’s Hollow
- The Mohegan Bluffs
- Beach Avenue
- Corn Neck Road
- Lakes Pond
- Ensign Pond
- Mitchell Farm
- North Lighthouse Road
- Atlantic Ocean
- Block Island Sound
- Various trails and private roads
- Farms and open spaces marked in the cartographic detail
Historical context & cartographic details
- Produced by the US Geological Survey as a historical 1:24,000 topographical map.
- Originally created in 1957 and published with a 1973 imprint.
- Shows Rhode Island’s Block Island area with populated places, beaches, landmarks, and surrounding waters.
- Includes contour lines to depict elevation and landform changes.
- Uses a distinctive topographic color palette to distinguish land, water bodies, and mapped features.
- Depicts terrain, coastal features, elevation variations, and nearby water depths.
- Reflects the mid-20th-century geographical and infrastructural state of the island.
- Useful for comparison with later development, land-use changes, and environmental conditions.
Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.
Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.
This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.
The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.
Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.
Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.
With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.
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.
Titled “Block Island,” this US Geological Survey topographical map was originally created in 1957 and issued with a 1973 imprint, preserving a mid-twentieth-century portrait of Rhode Island’s storied offshore island. At a detailed 1:24,000 scale, it presents Block Island not as a picturesque abstraction but as a measured landscape of roads, ponds, beaches, bluffs, farms, and maritime landmarks. The island’s compact geography is framed by the Atlantic Ocean and Block Island Sound, while the map’s disciplined USGS style gives equal importance to settlement, shoreline, elevation, and infrastructure. New Shoreham, the island’s only town, anchors the human geography, surrounded by a finely observed pattern of coastal routes, private roads, open spaces, and named natural features.
The US Geological Survey brought a distinctive authority to American cartography, combining scientific precision with a restrained visual language that remains instantly recognizable. Founded in the nineteenth century to map the nation’s geology and natural resources, the USGS became especially known for its topographic quadrangles: maps designed for engineers, planners, educators, hikers, and anyone needing to understand the physical shape of the land. On this map, contour lines trace Block Island’s subtle but dramatic relief, from low-lying beaches and ponds to the elevated southern headlands. The color palette distinguishes land, water, built features, and terrain with clarity, creating a document that is both utilitarian and quietly elegant.
Block Island’s coastline is the map’s great organizing feature, and the cartography reveals how varied that shoreline truly is. Sandy Point extends from the island’s northern end toward North Light, while West Beach and Crescent Beach define long, open strands exposed to wind, tide, and Atlantic weather. Old Harbor appears as a central maritime gateway, historically vital to ferries, fishing, and seasonal visitors. Great Salt Pond, nearly enclosed within the island’s interior, is one of the most striking features: a sheltered body of water that shaped Block Island’s navigation, ecology, and development. Smaller ponds, including Lakes Pond and Ensign Pond, add further texture to the island’s glacial and coastal landscape.
The map also captures Block Island’s celebrated high ground and dramatic southern scenery. The Mohegan Bluffs and nearby Bluffs are rendered through contours that make clear the abrupt meeting of elevated land and sea, an iconic edge of the island where geology, legend, and ocean weather converge. South Light, also known as Southeast Lighthouse, stands in this commanding southern landscape, a landmark of navigation and preservation. Rodman’s Hollow, Mitchell Farm, Clay Head, Ball O’Fire, and other named places evoke an island still strongly shaped by open land, footpaths, farmsteads, and vernacular place names. Roads such as Corn Neck Road, Beach Avenue, and North Lighthouse Road connect these features in a sparse but legible network.
As a historical document, this map offers a compelling view of Block Island before many later patterns of development, tourism, conservation, and environmental change became more pronounced. Its mid-century survey information preserves the placement of the Coast Guard Station, lighthouses, beaches, farms, ponds, and local roads at a particular moment in the island’s modern history. For collectors, it is especially appealing because Block Island is both geographically self-contained and culturally resonant: a small, wind-shaped Atlantic world rendered with scientific care. The map’s topographic detail invites close reading, whether following a road toward North Light, studying the contours above Mohegan Bluffs, or tracing the fragile boundary between dunes, pond, harbor, and open sea.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Block Island
- New Shoreham
- Great Salt Pond
- North Light
- South Light / Southeast Lighthouse
- Coast Guard Station
- Sandy Point
- Crescent Beach
- Ball O’Fire
- Old Harbor
- West Beach
- Clay Head
- Rodman’s Hollow
- The Mohegan Bluffs
- Beach Avenue
- Corn Neck Road
- Lakes Pond
- Ensign Pond
- Mitchell Farm
- North Lighthouse Road
- Atlantic Ocean
- Block Island Sound
- Various trails and private roads
- Farms and open spaces marked in the cartographic detail
Historical context & cartographic details
- Produced by the US Geological Survey as a historical 1:24,000 topographical map.
- Originally created in 1957 and published with a 1973 imprint.
- Shows Rhode Island’s Block Island area with populated places, beaches, landmarks, and surrounding waters.
- Includes contour lines to depict elevation and landform changes.
- Uses a distinctive topographic color palette to distinguish land, water bodies, and mapped features.
- Depicts terrain, coastal features, elevation variations, and nearby water depths.
- Reflects the mid-20th-century geographical and infrastructural state of the island.
- Useful for comparison with later development, land-use changes, and environmental conditions.
Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.
Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.
This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.
The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.
Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.
Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.
With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.
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.
Many of our maps and art prints are chosen as thoughtful gifts for homes, offices, studies and meaningful places.
Choose a framed option for the easiest ready-to-hang gift, or choose an unframed print if the recipient may prefer to select their own frame.
We make orders locally in 23 countries around the world, so gifts can often be produced close to the recipient. This helps them arrive faster, travel more safely, and avoid customs or import duty surprises.
- We can deliver directly to the recipient
- Framed pieces arrive ready to hang
- Unframed prints are carefully packed in a strong protective tube
- Almost every order is made locally, for faster, safer gifting
- 90-day returns give the recipient time to decide
If you are not sure what to choose, please contact us. We can help you pick the right map, size, finish or delivery option.
Most orders are made locally and delivered in around 2–3 working days, depending on the product, size and destination.
We print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world, so your order is usually made close to you or your recipient. That means faster delivery, less time in transit, and no customs or import duty surprises.
Personalised and customised pieces usually take an extra 1–2 working days, because we prepare your design and send it to you for approval before printing.
Very large framed orders can take a little longer, as they need extra care in production and delivery.
Every order is carefully packaged: unframed prints are sent in a strong protective tube, while framed pieces are securely packed with protective materials around the frame.
If you need your order by a particular date, please contact us before ordering. We’ll check the best production route and delivery option for your location.
Express delivery is available at checkout for most countries. Next-day delivery is available in the UK, US, Singapore and the UAE.
Your order is covered by our 90-day returns policy and 10-year guarantee.
Our standard frame is a gallery-style black ash hardwood frame, with a simple, modern look. It is approximately 20mm (0.8in) wide. You can also view some lovely customer photos of framed maps and art.
We use super-clear acrylic glazing, also known as Perspex or Acrylite, instead of traditional glass. It is lighter, safer, and has lower reflectivity, giving the artwork a clearer, cleaner appearance.
Six standard frame colours are available at no extra cost: black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white, and antique gold. Custom framing and mounting/matting is also available for customers looking for something more specific.
Most maps, art prints, and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced wooden box frame, and then float the piece within a wooden outer frame. The finished result is beautifully presented, with no glazing between you and the artwork.
All frames are supplied ready to hang, with either string or brackets fitted to the back. Very large frames will include heavy-duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.
We can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag, and other materials.
If you would prefer to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read our size guide before ordering.
Every Unique Maps piece begins with an authentic cartographic source or an original design from our London studio.
For our historic maps, we source rare originals from libraries, archives, auction houses and private collections around the world. We carefully restore each map for print—repairing age-related damage, balancing colour and improving clarity while preserving its original detail, texture and character.
Once restored, the map is prepared for your chosen size and finish. Your piece is then printed and, where selected, framed close to its delivery destination.
Our map prints use acid-free 200gsm archival matte paper and fade-resistant pigment inks, creating a rich, non-glossy finish designed to last. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.
Canvas, cotton-rag and other specialist presentations are also available. Learn more about our materials and finishes.
Personalising your map
You can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. For personalised designs, we send a proof before printing and you can request changes before approval.
For more complex bespoke commissions, contact our design team.
Original or Aged
Choose Original for true-to-source colour, or Aged for a warmer, richer antique character created with our specialist ageing process. See examples of our Aged maps.
We’ve been restoring and producing maps and art prints since 1984, and we stand behind every piece.
Every order is covered by our 10-year guarantee and damage-free delivery guarantee. If your piece arrives damaged, we’ll replace or remake it free of charge. If anything else isn’t right, contact our workshop team and we’ll put it right promptly.
See our returns and refund policy for full details.
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