Old Map of Washington DC, 1855 by Colton - Georgetown, Capitol, Monument, President's White House, Smithsonian

This map of Washington, D.C. was created and published in 1855 by J. H. Colton, one of the 19th century's top mapmaking firms.

This is an extremely high quality city plan with a huge amount of detail. By the mid-1800s, most of D.C. had been laid out - but many of the blocks hadn't yet been constructed.

Some of the most important buildings and institutions of the United States of America are clearly visible on this map, such as the Capitol Building, Presidents House (White House), Washington Monument and the Smithsonian.

Georgetown dominates the top left corner of the map, and around the edges of the map are detailed engravings of some of the aforementioned buildings.

This map looks great at all sizes from 12x16 inches (30x40cm), to 16x20 inches (40x50cm) and 18x24 inches (45x60cm). But it looks even better when printed large. I can create beautiful, large prints of this map up to 70 inches (175cm) wide. Please get in touch if you're looking for larger, customised or different framing options.

The model in the listing images is holding the 20x16 inch (50x40cm) version of this map.

Please note that the 24x30 inch unframed map has white strips along the edge. These can be snipped off easily or they may help you with framing. All other sizes, and all framed maps, look just like the listing images.

Zoom into the listing images and admire the detail - and also how much of the city hasn't yet been built.

This map would make a great birthday or Christmas gift for someone from Washington or who has US politics in their heart.

You can order the map itself, or you can order a framed version. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that really makes our maps pop out when on a wall. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame, or if you'd like to frame one of the larger maps. We use super-clear acrylic (perspex/acrylite) in our frames - it's less reflective than glass and better for transport.