Rare Pictorial Map by Female Cartographer

"A Map of Western, Central, & Eastern Maine",

This charming pictorial map by Ruth Lepper Gardner features the numerous sights and attractions that can be found in southern Maine. Born in Massachusetts in 1905, Ruth studied art and design at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Museum School at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Ruth spent many summers on Southport Island in Maine before moving to the island permanently in 1947 after marrying Cornelius Gardner. Her love for cartography developed as a Draftsman with the U.S. Navy, and she later combined her cartography and artistic skills to create several iconic maps of Maine. The map extends north to Moosehead Lake and is filled with interesting facts and vignettes of important historic buildings, including the University of Maine, several county jails, and lighthouses. At bottom are a number of important ships, and the state seal and a brief description and history of Maine fill the right-hand column. Printed by the Spaulding-Moss Company in Boston, Massachusetts.

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Condition: B+

A clean and bright example, backed in linen, with light toning along the edges of the sheet and a few small abrasions at top right with minor loss of text.