1946 Sutton - Miller Pictorial Map of Nantucket, in its second edition of 1964

This is a beautiful example of the 1964 edition of Ruth Haviland Sutton’s pictorial map of Nantucket, Massachusetts. This vivacious depiction of the island emphasizes its nautical history and character. Its execution reflects the love of place that led Sutton to relocate there for most of her adult life. The waters around the island are decorated with boats and ships – some native, some European, some afloat but many shipwrecked (these last have the dates).

Capturing the Past for Posterity

The map is not just a depiction of the Nantucket of 1946. It is meant to preserve the history of the island. Many details are those that Sutton would have been personally familiar with, still more would have survived in local memory, and all would have been the argot of Nantucket locals. Not only the shipwrecks, but many other details are dated. No doubt as familiar to locals the catboat Lillian, shown in Nantucket Harbor with her dates (1876 - 1932). She carried freight and passengers between villages on Nantucket Harbor. She would have been both familiar to and mourned by the locals who relied on her.

Monuments and lighthouses are marked and dated. The Nantucket Central Railroad is illustrated, with its dates of operation (1881 - 1917). The railroad’s sole engine, Dionis, is named. (The whole railway was torn up and sent to France to aid the Allies in World War I.) A horse-drawn rail carriage running between Nantucket Town and the Bathing Beach is given its dates (1890-1892). Fish and waterfowl appear in the surrounding waters, and flowers characteristic to different parts of the island are pictured and named, along with forests and cranberry bogs.

Nantucket Town

A detailed inset plan of Nantucket Town occupies most of the upper left quadrant, naming the streets and important structures, many of which are numbered and keyed to a list included within the right border. Buildings are illustrated pictorially, capturing the character of the town’s architecture but also giving an impression of tree-lined streets and generous lawns.

Border Vignettes

The pictorial border again emphasizes Nantucket’s history, with pictures of literary and historical events in addition to lists of businesses and hotels. A historical timeline reaching back to the first possible European sightings of the island is appended as well. The title is inscribed on an unfurled banner borne by an eagle in flight, lending a patriotic note to the composition. An illustration of the carved stern of the Edgartown whaling ship Eunice H. Adams appears in the lower center. Ships and ships’ figureheads decorate the corners (puzzlingly, one of these is a Viking longship, though there is here appended no date).

Publication History and Census

Sutton composed and painted this map in 1946, to be printed by George C. Miller that year. This first edition, which we find cataloged only in the University of Connecticut, the University of Illinois, and Stanford University Library, was printed both in two sizes, 22 x 31 inches and 19.25 x 25.5 inches. In 1964, a second edition was printed under the ‘George C. Miller and Son, Inc.’ imprint, only in the larger iteration. This second edition (present example) is not cataloged in OCLC. Miller’s Son, Burr, would go on to produce a third edition of the map in 1980, again reproducing only the larger format of the map. All three editions are scarce to the market.