Nantucket Town

Nantucket,: Mickey Shemin and Henry W. Royster,, 1973.. 580 by 760mm. (22.75 by 30 inches).. Lithograph map printed in black and brown. A bird's-eye view of the village of Nantucket, Massachusetts, filled with detailed depictions of the local area centred on Main Street, oriented with east at the bottom. The buildings and shops are labelled throughout, including the Post Office, Atheneum and Information Bureau. On Federal Street, one building has a prominent sign announcing 'Something Natural, The Earth Works, Our Store', which may suggest that the map was produced to promote that business. The map is surrounded by a series of vignettes of historic buildings, ships and lighthouses along with an inset map of Nantucket Island. One image shows the Jethro Coffin House, the oldest house built in Nantucket in 1686 and the only surviving structure on the island from the seventeenth century English settlement. The whole map is framed within an elaborate pattern of roses printed in brown. The title, 'Nantucket Town' spans the length of the map in the horizon as is printed in an Art Nouveau style, with seagulls soaring around it and perched on some of the letters. Henry W. Royster published prints of Nantucket scenes throughout the 1970s. In addition to the present example, he also published 'The Port of Nantucket', 'Grey Lady of the Sea' and 'Main Street, Nantucket Town, Cobblestoned in 1937'. Rare. We are only able to trace one institutional example at the Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library. Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries 1975 Works of Art, Jan.-Dec. 3rd Series, Vol. 29.