W.L. Hamilton
The Hamilton Aerial Map of Manhattan
Hamilton Maxwell Inc., New York: September 1927
Photographic prints on paper
28 x 27.75 inches, image
31.5 x 34 inches, overall
Price on Request
Large Photographic Aerial Maps of NYC Neighborhoods
Hamilton Aerial Map Service: 1927
If you are interested in purchasing one of these maps contact us.
Be sure to specify the sheet number in your e-mail.
Hamilton Aerial Map Service: 1927
If you are interested in purchasing one of these maps contact us.
Be sure to specify the sheet number in your e-mail.
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Above left: Detail of the northeast corner of Central Park and surrounding streets. |
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This is a selection of rare, large, photographic aerial maps of neighborhoods in Manhattan in 1927. The maps show the exact layout of New York City, including streets, buildings, parks, rivers and waterways, bridges, railways, piers, etc. Each map includes a small diagram of Manhattan in the right margin, showing the location of the applicable section, and a compass pointer indicating north. In the left margin is a street index. Each map is labeled in white lettering with names of streets, bridges, and rivers. Also indicated are subways and elevated train lines, and some street numbers.
Among the neighborhoods represented in these aerial maps (though not denominated as such) are the Upper East and West Sides, Midtown, Gramercy, Murray Hill, Kip’s Bay, Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea, Union Square, Greenwich Village, SoHo, Chinatown, Little Italy, the East Village, the Lower East Side, Tribeca, the Financial District, East and West Harlem, and Upper Manhattan.
These maps were published as a set by The Hamilton Aerial Map, one of the two pioneering firms in this field for New York City cartography. In the 1920s, commercial aviation, still in its early stages, combined with photography, gave a new dimension to map making, enabling the production of photographically accurate aerial maps. The Fairfield Aerial Camera Corporation published an aerial map of Manhattan in 1921 and one of Greater New York City in 1924. The Hamilton Aerial Map Service project published in 1927 by Hamilton Maxwell Inc. was reproduced at a larger scale (1 inch = 200 feet) and consisted of 31 maps of neighborhoods in the Borough of Manhattan.
We currently offer a wide selection of maps from this series. Several are shown on this page in the viewer above. Please inquire as to current availability of others not illustrated.
Full publication information: Hamilton Aerial Map Service, 101 Park Avenue, New York City. Copyright W.L. Hamilton. Photography and assembly by Hamilton Maxwell, Inc.
Condition: Each generally very good with the usual overall light toning and wear. Some marginal dampstains, unobtrusive. Some short marginal tears, professionally restored. Some faint cellotape stains from former repairs, generally confined to the margins.
References:
Cohen, Paul E. and Augustyn, Robert T. Manhattan in Maps: 1527-1995. New York: Rizzoli, 1997. pp. 156-157.
A similar set in the Mark D. Tomasko Collection was exhibited in Two Hundred Years in Maps, The Grolier Club, New York City, November 29, 2000 to January 12, 2001.