Rare Old Map of Canandaigua, New York by USGS, 1942: Canandaigua Lake & Finger Lakes
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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If you want to add a gift message, or a finish (jigsaw, aluminium board, etc.) that is not available here, please request it in the "order note" when you check out.
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Titled “Canandaigua Lake,” this 1942 U.S. Geological Survey topographical map presents one of New York’s celebrated Finger Lakes with the precision and...
Continue readingTitled “Canandaigua Lake,” this 1942 U.S. Geological Survey topographical map presents one of New York’s celebrated Finger Lakes with the precision and quiet elegance characteristic of mid-20th-century American cartography. Drawn at a scale of 1:31,680, it captures Canandaigua, its lakeshore settlements, surrounding roads, wooded areas, streams, and the rising terrain that frames the water. The map belongs to a period when federal survey work was central to infrastructure, land management, and regional planning, offering a carefully measured portrait of the landscape before later suburban expansion transformed many lakeside communities. Its contours, hydrography, and settlement patterns together create a richly detailed view of Canandaigua Lake as both a natural landmark and a lived-in cultural landscape.
The U.S. Geological Survey, founded in 1879, became the authoritative American institution for mapping terrain, mineral resources, waterways, and settlement geography. Its topographical maps were prized not merely for navigational usefulness, but for their disciplined visual language: contour lines to reveal relief, standardized symbols for roads and structures, blue waterways, and green shading for woodland or parkland. In “Canandaigua Lake,” that language gives form to the distinctive Finger Lakes topography, where glacially carved basins, sloping hillsides, and narrow valleys define the region. The result is both scientific and atmospheric, translating the land into a readable pattern of elevation, drainage, vegetation, and human movement around the lake.
Canandaigua Lake itself dominates the composition, a long, elegant body of water set within the broader Finger Lakes region of western New York. Its shorelines are carefully traced, with places such as Green Landing, Crystal Beach, Long Point, and Grange Landing marking the close relationship between settlement and water. The city of Canandaigua anchors the northern end of the lake, historically a regional center for commerce, transportation, and civic life. Smaller roads and local routes lead outward from the lakeshore into the surrounding countryside, revealing how farms, hamlets, summer communities, and wooded tracts were linked by a developing network of travel across the hills and valleys.
The map’s contour work is especially evocative, showing the elevation changes that give Canandaigua Lake its dramatic setting. Hills rise from the water’s edge, valleys carry streams such as Bear Creek toward the lake, and shaded green areas suggest forested or park-like land within the surrounding terrain. This is a landscape shaped by ice-age geology: the Finger Lakes were formed by glacial erosion, leaving deep, narrow lakes and fertile slopes that later supported agriculture, vineyards, villages, and recreation. On this map, those geological origins remain visible in the disciplined rhythm of contour lines, which reveal the steep banks, drainage patterns, and natural corridors that structured human settlement.
As a historical document, the 1942 “Canandaigua Lake” map captures a particular moment in the region’s evolution, balancing rural character, lakeside leisure, and early modern transportation. Roads and trails mark the practical geography of everyday life, while named beaches and landings hint at the lake’s long-standing role as a destination for recreation and seasonal residence. The surrounding forests, parks, and shoreline boundaries preserve evidence of natural spaces before many later developments intensified along the water. Elegant in its restraint and rich in information, this map offers more than a view of place: it records the relationship between geology, water, settlement, and survey science in one of New York’s most admired lake landscapes.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Canandaigua
- Canandaigua Lake
- Green Landing
- Crystal Beach
- Long Point
- Grange Landing
- Bear Creek
- Finger Lakes
- Various roads and trails, including major highways and local routes
- Nearby forests and parks, indicated by shaded green areas
- Lakeshores and boundaries along Canandaigua Lake
Historical context & cartographic details
- Created in 1942
- Produced by the US Geological Survey
- Historical 1:31,680 topographical map of Canandaigua, New York and the surrounding area
- Uses a classic topographical style with contour lines to show elevation changes
- Includes color shading to represent vegetation and water bodies
- Shows the varied topography of the Finger Lakes region, including hills, valleys, and the position of Canandaigua Lake
- Reflects early 20th-century geographical detailing and survey methods
- Captures the landscape before later urban development and changes to natural areas
- Produced by a mapmaker renowned for precise topographical maps used in navigation, planning, and land analysis
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 16x20in (40x50cm) 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 “Canandaigua Lake,” this 1942 U.S. Geological Survey topographical map presents one of New York’s celebrated Finger Lakes with the precision and quiet elegance characteristic of mid-20th-century American cartography. Drawn at a scale of 1:31,680, it captures Canandaigua, its lakeshore settlements, surrounding roads, wooded areas, streams, and the rising terrain that frames the water. The map belongs to a period when federal survey work was central to infrastructure, land management, and regional planning, offering a carefully measured portrait of the landscape before later suburban expansion transformed many lakeside communities. Its contours, hydrography, and settlement patterns together create a richly detailed view of Canandaigua Lake as both a natural landmark and a lived-in cultural landscape.
The U.S. Geological Survey, founded in 1879, became the authoritative American institution for mapping terrain, mineral resources, waterways, and settlement geography. Its topographical maps were prized not merely for navigational usefulness, but for their disciplined visual language: contour lines to reveal relief, standardized symbols for roads and structures, blue waterways, and green shading for woodland or parkland. In “Canandaigua Lake,” that language gives form to the distinctive Finger Lakes topography, where glacially carved basins, sloping hillsides, and narrow valleys define the region. The result is both scientific and atmospheric, translating the land into a readable pattern of elevation, drainage, vegetation, and human movement around the lake.
Canandaigua Lake itself dominates the composition, a long, elegant body of water set within the broader Finger Lakes region of western New York. Its shorelines are carefully traced, with places such as Green Landing, Crystal Beach, Long Point, and Grange Landing marking the close relationship between settlement and water. The city of Canandaigua anchors the northern end of the lake, historically a regional center for commerce, transportation, and civic life. Smaller roads and local routes lead outward from the lakeshore into the surrounding countryside, revealing how farms, hamlets, summer communities, and wooded tracts were linked by a developing network of travel across the hills and valleys.
The map’s contour work is especially evocative, showing the elevation changes that give Canandaigua Lake its dramatic setting. Hills rise from the water’s edge, valleys carry streams such as Bear Creek toward the lake, and shaded green areas suggest forested or park-like land within the surrounding terrain. This is a landscape shaped by ice-age geology: the Finger Lakes were formed by glacial erosion, leaving deep, narrow lakes and fertile slopes that later supported agriculture, vineyards, villages, and recreation. On this map, those geological origins remain visible in the disciplined rhythm of contour lines, which reveal the steep banks, drainage patterns, and natural corridors that structured human settlement.
As a historical document, the 1942 “Canandaigua Lake” map captures a particular moment in the region’s evolution, balancing rural character, lakeside leisure, and early modern transportation. Roads and trails mark the practical geography of everyday life, while named beaches and landings hint at the lake’s long-standing role as a destination for recreation and seasonal residence. The surrounding forests, parks, and shoreline boundaries preserve evidence of natural spaces before many later developments intensified along the water. Elegant in its restraint and rich in information, this map offers more than a view of place: it records the relationship between geology, water, settlement, and survey science in one of New York’s most admired lake landscapes.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Canandaigua
- Canandaigua Lake
- Green Landing
- Crystal Beach
- Long Point
- Grange Landing
- Bear Creek
- Finger Lakes
- Various roads and trails, including major highways and local routes
- Nearby forests and parks, indicated by shaded green areas
- Lakeshores and boundaries along Canandaigua Lake
Historical context & cartographic details
- Created in 1942
- Produced by the US Geological Survey
- Historical 1:31,680 topographical map of Canandaigua, New York and the surrounding area
- Uses a classic topographical style with contour lines to show elevation changes
- Includes color shading to represent vegetation and water bodies
- Shows the varied topography of the Finger Lakes region, including hills, valleys, and the position of Canandaigua Lake
- Reflects early 20th-century geographical detailing and survey methods
- Captures the landscape before later urban development and changes to natural areas
- Produced by a mapmaker renowned for precise topographical maps used in navigation, planning, and land analysis
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 16x20in (40x50cm) 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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