Rare Old Map of Camden, Maine by USGS, 1941: Rockport, Rockland & Owls Head Lighthouse
Restored in our London workshop from the original map and printed to museum-grade archival standards. Full description
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Choose two eligible works and receive 20% off both. Choose three and the lowest-priced one is complimentary, a maximum saving of 33%.
Mix and match eligible standard maps and fine-art prints. No code is required; the offer is applied automatically at checkout.
Standard made-to-order configurations are included. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded.
Need delivery to different addresses? Contact us before ordering.The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 20% off both. Choose three and the lowest-priced one is complimentary, a maximum saving of 33%.
Mix and match eligible standard maps and fine-art prints. No code is required; the offer is applied automatically at checkout.
Standard made-to-order configurations are included. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded.
Need delivery to different addresses? Contact us before ordering.
Restored in London • Printed and framed in the EU
My maps are rare, museum-grade, restored old maps sourced from libraries, auction houses and private collections across the globe. Full description
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Titled “Rockland” and published in 1941, this US Geological Survey topographical map presents the coast of midcoast Maine at a scale of...
Continue readingTitled “Rockland” and published in 1941, this US Geological Survey topographical map presents the coast of midcoast Maine at a scale of 1:62,500, centering on Rockland while extending across Camden, Rockport, Thomaston, South Thomaston, St. George, and the inland town of Hope. Its “advance” designation gives it particular historical interest, suggesting a sheet made available in timely form during a period when accurate terrain and infrastructure mapping carried heightened national importance. The map captures the region just before postwar expansion reshaped patterns of roads, housing, and tourism, preserving an early-1940s view of harbors, peninsulas, rural roads, wooded uplands, and working waterfronts along one of Maine’s most distinctive coastal landscapes.
Produced by the US Geological Survey, the map belongs to a tradition of rigorous federal cartography that transformed American landscape knowledge from the late nineteenth century onward. The USGS was not merely making navigational aids; it was documenting the nation scientifically, with contour lines, hydrography, transportation routes, settlement patterns, and place names brought together in a disciplined visual system. Here, that precision is especially rewarding. The Camden Hills rise above the shore, the contours tightening around high ground such as Beech Hill, while roads and settlements thread between ponds, coves, and rocky points. The result is both a technical document and a finely observed portrait of Maine’s coastal geography.
The map’s coastal detail is particularly evocative, tracing the ragged meeting of land and Atlantic water around Rockland Harbor, Glen Cove, Owls Head, Mussel Ridge, and the island-studded approaches to Muscongus Bay and Friendship Bay. Nautical landmarks such as Owl’s Head Lighthouse, Rockland Breakwater, and Breakwater Light anchor the sheet in the maritime history of the region, where fishing, quarrying, ship traffic, and coastal trade shaped local life. Names like Goose Rocks, Seal Ledge, Curtis Nubble, Davis Point, McGowan Point, and Brooks Island give the shoreline its richly textured identity. These are not generic coastal forms, but a catalog of hazards, havens, and working landmarks known to generations of Mainers.
Inland, the map reveals the quieter structure of the landscape: ponds, rivers, ridges, farms, and village roads extending away from the harbors. Lermond Pond, Little River, and Ducktrap River mark the freshwater systems that drain toward the coast, while the surrounding terrain shows the irregular relief characteristic of this part of Maine. The careful use of contour lines and shading conveys the way hills gather behind Camden and Rockport, offering a dramatic contrast between compact shoreline settlements and the rougher uplands beyond. Places such as Tanglewood, Hope, and Beech Hill suggest a landscape where rural interiors remained closely connected to coastal communities, yet retained their own topographical and cultural distinctiveness.
As a historical record, “Rockland” offers a compelling snapshot of midcoast Maine at the threshold of the 1940s: a region of active harbors, small towns, lighthouses, beaches, coves, and hill country before later waves of suburbanization and seasonal development altered the map. Rockland, Camden, and Rockport appear not simply as scenic destinations, but as functioning communities embedded in a demanding coastal environment. The USGS’s restrained cartographic language—contours, roads, water bodies, named features, and settlement symbols—allows the landscape itself to speak with clarity. For admirers of Maine, maritime history, and American topographical mapping, this sheet combines scientific authority with the unmistakable romance of a rugged Atlantic shore.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Camden
- Rockport
- Rockland
- Thomaston
- South Thomaston
- St. George
- Hope
- Mussel Ridge
- Owls Head
- Goose Rocks
- Davis Point
- Beech Hill
- McGowan Point
- Seal Ledge
- Waterman Beach
- Lermond Pond
- Glen Cove
- Rockland Harbor
- Friendship Bay
- Muscongus Bay
- Prospect Harbor
- Little River
- Ducktrap River
- Tanglewood
- Brooks Island
- Curtis Nubble
- Owl's Head Lighthouse
- Rockland Breakwater
- Breakwater Light
Historical context & cartographic details
- Historical 1:62,500 topographical map of Rockland, Maine, highlighting Camden, Rockport, and the surrounding coastal region.
- Created in 1941 and marked with the special feature note “advance.”
- Produced by the US Geological Survey, known for detailed topographical surveys and geological research in the United States.
- Uses topographic lines and shading to show elevation changes across the Maine coastal landscape.
- Includes detailed annotations of roads, bodies of water, populated places, and notable landmarks.
- Captures varied elevations and distinctive topographic features characteristic of the Maine coast.
- Provides insight into the geographical and infrastructural landscape of the area during the early 1940s, before later changes in urban density and land use.
Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.
Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.
This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.
The model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this map.
Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.
Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.
With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.
This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.
For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.
Titled “Rockland” and published in 1941, this US Geological Survey topographical map presents the coast of midcoast Maine at a scale of 1:62,500, centering on Rockland while extending across Camden, Rockport, Thomaston, South Thomaston, St. George, and the inland town of Hope. Its “advance” designation gives it particular historical interest, suggesting a sheet made available in timely form during a period when accurate terrain and infrastructure mapping carried heightened national importance. The map captures the region just before postwar expansion reshaped patterns of roads, housing, and tourism, preserving an early-1940s view of harbors, peninsulas, rural roads, wooded uplands, and working waterfronts along one of Maine’s most distinctive coastal landscapes.
Produced by the US Geological Survey, the map belongs to a tradition of rigorous federal cartography that transformed American landscape knowledge from the late nineteenth century onward. The USGS was not merely making navigational aids; it was documenting the nation scientifically, with contour lines, hydrography, transportation routes, settlement patterns, and place names brought together in a disciplined visual system. Here, that precision is especially rewarding. The Camden Hills rise above the shore, the contours tightening around high ground such as Beech Hill, while roads and settlements thread between ponds, coves, and rocky points. The result is both a technical document and a finely observed portrait of Maine’s coastal geography.
The map’s coastal detail is particularly evocative, tracing the ragged meeting of land and Atlantic water around Rockland Harbor, Glen Cove, Owls Head, Mussel Ridge, and the island-studded approaches to Muscongus Bay and Friendship Bay. Nautical landmarks such as Owl’s Head Lighthouse, Rockland Breakwater, and Breakwater Light anchor the sheet in the maritime history of the region, where fishing, quarrying, ship traffic, and coastal trade shaped local life. Names like Goose Rocks, Seal Ledge, Curtis Nubble, Davis Point, McGowan Point, and Brooks Island give the shoreline its richly textured identity. These are not generic coastal forms, but a catalog of hazards, havens, and working landmarks known to generations of Mainers.
Inland, the map reveals the quieter structure of the landscape: ponds, rivers, ridges, farms, and village roads extending away from the harbors. Lermond Pond, Little River, and Ducktrap River mark the freshwater systems that drain toward the coast, while the surrounding terrain shows the irregular relief characteristic of this part of Maine. The careful use of contour lines and shading conveys the way hills gather behind Camden and Rockport, offering a dramatic contrast between compact shoreline settlements and the rougher uplands beyond. Places such as Tanglewood, Hope, and Beech Hill suggest a landscape where rural interiors remained closely connected to coastal communities, yet retained their own topographical and cultural distinctiveness.
As a historical record, “Rockland” offers a compelling snapshot of midcoast Maine at the threshold of the 1940s: a region of active harbors, small towns, lighthouses, beaches, coves, and hill country before later waves of suburbanization and seasonal development altered the map. Rockland, Camden, and Rockport appear not simply as scenic destinations, but as functioning communities embedded in a demanding coastal environment. The USGS’s restrained cartographic language—contours, roads, water bodies, named features, and settlement symbols—allows the landscape itself to speak with clarity. For admirers of Maine, maritime history, and American topographical mapping, this sheet combines scientific authority with the unmistakable romance of a rugged Atlantic shore.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Camden
- Rockport
- Rockland
- Thomaston
- South Thomaston
- St. George
- Hope
- Mussel Ridge
- Owls Head
- Goose Rocks
- Davis Point
- Beech Hill
- McGowan Point
- Seal Ledge
- Waterman Beach
- Lermond Pond
- Glen Cove
- Rockland Harbor
- Friendship Bay
- Muscongus Bay
- Prospect Harbor
- Little River
- Ducktrap River
- Tanglewood
- Brooks Island
- Curtis Nubble
- Owl's Head Lighthouse
- Rockland Breakwater
- Breakwater Light
Historical context & cartographic details
- Historical 1:62,500 topographical map of Rockland, Maine, highlighting Camden, Rockport, and the surrounding coastal region.
- Created in 1941 and marked with the special feature note “advance.”
- Produced by the US Geological Survey, known for detailed topographical surveys and geological research in the United States.
- Uses topographic lines and shading to show elevation changes across the Maine coastal landscape.
- Includes detailed annotations of roads, bodies of water, populated places, and notable landmarks.
- Captures varied elevations and distinctive topographic features characteristic of the Maine coast.
- Provides insight into the geographical and infrastructural landscape of the area during the early 1940s, before later changes in urban density and land use.
Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.
Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.
This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.
The model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this map.
Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.
Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.
With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.
This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.
For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.
Many of our maps and art prints are chosen as thoughtful gifts for homes, offices, studies and meaningful places.
Choose a framed option for the easiest ready-to-hang gift, or choose an unframed print if the recipient may prefer to select their own frame.
We make orders locally in 23 countries around the world, so gifts can often be produced close to the recipient. This helps them arrive faster, travel more safely, and avoid customs or import duty surprises.
- We can deliver directly to the recipient
- Framed pieces arrive ready to hang
- Unframed prints are carefully packed in a strong protective tube
- Almost every order is made locally, for faster, safer gifting
- 90-day returns give the recipient time to decide
If you are not sure what to choose, please contact us. We can help you pick the right map, size, finish or delivery option.
Most orders are made locally and delivered in around 2–3 working days, depending on the product, size and destination.
We print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world, so your order is usually made close to you or your recipient. That means faster delivery, less time in transit, and no customs or import duty surprises.
Personalised and customised pieces usually take an extra 1–2 working days, because we prepare your design and send it to you for approval before printing.
Very large framed orders can take a little longer, as they need extra care in production and delivery.
Every order is carefully packaged: unframed prints are sent in a strong protective tube, while framed pieces are securely packed with protective materials around the frame.
If you need your order by a particular date, please contact us before ordering. We’ll check the best production route and delivery option for your location.
Express delivery is available at checkout for most countries. Next-day delivery is available in the UK, US, Singapore and the UAE.
Your order is covered by our 90-day returns policy and 10-year guarantee.
Our standard frame is a gallery-style black ash hardwood frame, with a simple, modern look. It is approximately 20mm (0.8in) wide. You can also view some lovely customer photos of framed maps and art.
We use super-clear acrylic glazing, also known as Perspex or Acrylite, instead of traditional glass. It is lighter, safer, and has lower reflectivity, giving the artwork a clearer, cleaner appearance.
Six standard frame colours are available at no extra cost: black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white, and antique gold. Custom framing and mounting/matting is also available for customers looking for something more specific.
Most maps, art prints, and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced wooden box frame, and then float the piece within a wooden outer frame. The finished result is beautifully presented, with no glazing between you and the artwork.
All frames are supplied ready to hang, with either string or brackets fitted to the back. Very large frames will include heavy-duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.
We can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag, and other materials.
If you would prefer to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read our size guide before ordering.
Every Unique Maps piece begins with an authentic cartographic source or an original design from our London studio.
For our historic maps, we source rare originals from libraries, archives, auction houses and private collections around the world. We carefully restore each map for print—repairing age-related damage, balancing colour and improving clarity while preserving its original detail, texture and character.
Once restored, the map is prepared for your chosen size and finish. Your piece is then printed and, where selected, framed close to its delivery destination.
Our map prints use acid-free 200gsm archival matte paper and fade-resistant pigment inks, creating a rich, non-glossy finish designed to last. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.
Canvas, cotton-rag and other specialist presentations are also available. Learn more about our materials and finishes.
Personalising your map
You can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. For personalised designs, we send a proof before printing and you can request changes before approval.
For more complex bespoke commissions, contact our design team.
Original or Aged
Choose Original for true-to-source colour, or Aged for a warmer, richer antique character created with our specialist ageing process. See examples of our Aged maps.
We’ve been restoring and producing maps and art prints since 1984, and we stand behind every piece.
Every order is covered by our 10-year guarantee and damage-free delivery guarantee. If your piece arrives damaged, we’ll replace or remake it free of charge. If anything else isn’t right, contact our workshop team and we’ll put it right promptly.
See our returns and refund policy for full details.
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