1930 Nora Barker Pictorial Map of Cambridge, Massachusetts

This is a 1930 Nora E. Barker pictorial map of Cambridge, Massachusetts - issued at the highpoint of the Golden Age of American Pictorial Cartography. Focusing on Harvard's presence in the city, university buildings are illustrated and labeled throughout. Harvard's seal appears along the right border. Despite this focus, only one of Harvard's buildings is illustrated in profile: the School of Business Administration across the Charles River in Boston. Other illustrated buildings, including the public library, three churches, and the hospital. Vignettes of high society men and women dot the map and decorate the parks, while several boats ply the waters of the Charles River. Radcliffe Women's College is illustrated between Garden Street and Mason Street. Other vignettes highlight historic moments, such as the 'purchase' of Cambridge from Native Americans and George Whitefield preaching on the Common. Vignettes of historic scenes, such as the landing of the first settlers, a Puritan meeting, and local dress over the preceding four hundred years create the map's border.

Publication History and Census

This map was created and published by Nora E. Barker in 1930. Two examples are cataloged in OCLC and are part of the collections at the Harvard University Library and the Harvard Law School Library.