Rare Old Map of Irvington, Virginia by USGS, 1917: Rappahannock River, Kilmarnock & Chesapeake Bay
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 USA
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 “Kilmarnock,” this 1917 United States Geological Survey map presents the tidewater landscape around Irvington, Virginia, with the precision and restraint that...
Continue readingTitled “Kilmarnock,” this 1917 United States Geological Survey map presents the tidewater landscape around Irvington, Virginia, with the precision and restraint that made early USGS topographical mapping so influential. Drawn at a scale of 1:62,500, it captures a region where settlement, agriculture, creeks, bays, and river landings were closely interwoven. Irvington appears near Carter’s Creek, with Kilmarnock, Roberts Landing, Irvinton Point, Fleets Bay, Fishing Bay, Godfrey Bay, and the Little Wicomico River helping define the surrounding geography. The map is both practical and quietly elegant: contour lines describe subtle changes in elevation, while waterways and roads are rendered with the clarity essential to a landscape shaped by movement over land and water.
The United States Geological Survey, founded in 1879, became the authoritative cartographic voice of the American landscape, and this map reflects its mission to document the nation with scientific rigor. Unlike decorative commercial maps, USGS sheets were designed to serve engineers, planners, geologists, travelers, and local authorities, yet they possess a distinctive beauty of their own. The muted early twentieth-century palette, fine lettering, careful hydrography, and orderly topographic symbols create a visual language of understated sophistication. Here, that language is especially well suited to Virginia’s Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula, where elevation changes are gentle but meaningful, and where the pattern of streams, inlets, roads, and fields reveals the practical geography of rural life.
The Rappahannock River is one of the great presences on the map, anchoring the wider region and linking inland communities to Chesapeake Bay. Its tributaries and sheltered waters—Carter’s Creek, Fleets Bay, Fishing Bay, and the Little Wicomico River—show how deeply tidal geography shaped settlement in Lancaster and Middlesex Counties. Landings such as Roberts Landing speak to an era when water transport remained vital, carrying agricultural goods, seafood, timber, mail, and passengers between dispersed communities. The map’s shoreline detail is particularly evocative, tracing points, coves, and narrow waterways with a delicacy that makes the Chesapeake landscape legible as both a natural system and a working environment.
Irvington and Kilmarnock appear within a countryside of roads, trails, farms, small villages, and waterfront access points, offering a valuable glimpse of Virginia before the transformations of later highways, suburban development, and modern resort culture. The road network suggests connections that were still local and intimate, linking courthouse towns, churches, farms, mills, landings, and market centers across a landscape defined as much by waterways as by overland routes. The map captures a transitional moment in American mobility: the automobile age was emerging, yet many patterns of settlement still reflected older rhythms of agriculture, maritime commerce, and community exchange. In this sense, it is a document of both continuity and change.
As a historical object, “Kilmarnock” offers more than geographical information; it preserves the texture of early twentieth-century Tidewater Virginia. Its contour lines and place names give structure to a region of low ridges, marsh-edged creeks, cultivated fields, and Chesapeake horizons, while its careful survey style reveals how federal mapping brought order to complex local landscapes. For anyone drawn to Virginia history, coastal geography, or the quiet artistry of scientific cartography, this map is especially compelling. It records Irvington, Kilmarnock, Lancaster County, Middlesex County, and the surrounding waterways at a moment when their spatial relationships were still rooted in river landings, country roads, and the enduring pull of the Chesapeake Bay.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Irvington
- Rappahannock River
- Fleets Bay
- Fishing Bay
- Irvinton Point
- Lancaster County
- Middlesex County
- Carter's Creek
- Roberts Landing
- Godfrey Bay
- Little Wicomico River
- Kilmarnock
- Chesapeake Bay
- Various roads and trails throughout the region
- Other nearby villages and agricultural areas in the surrounding countryside
Historical context & cartographic details
- Historical 1:62,500 topographical map produced by the US Geological Survey
- Published in 1917
- Shows Irvington, Virginia and the surrounding area
- Created by the US Geological Survey, known for detailed and accurate topographical mapping
- Features contour lines indicating elevation changes
- Uses a muted color scheme typical of early 20th-century USGS maps
- Includes an ornate border reflecting the era of its production
- Displays rural and urban features characteristic of the landscape around Irvington
- Serves as a snapshot of early 20th-century Virginia, showing spatial patterns and developments that may have changed significantly over time
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 “Kilmarnock,” this 1917 United States Geological Survey map presents the tidewater landscape around Irvington, Virginia, with the precision and restraint that made early USGS topographical mapping so influential. Drawn at a scale of 1:62,500, it captures a region where settlement, agriculture, creeks, bays, and river landings were closely interwoven. Irvington appears near Carter’s Creek, with Kilmarnock, Roberts Landing, Irvinton Point, Fleets Bay, Fishing Bay, Godfrey Bay, and the Little Wicomico River helping define the surrounding geography. The map is both practical and quietly elegant: contour lines describe subtle changes in elevation, while waterways and roads are rendered with the clarity essential to a landscape shaped by movement over land and water.
The United States Geological Survey, founded in 1879, became the authoritative cartographic voice of the American landscape, and this map reflects its mission to document the nation with scientific rigor. Unlike decorative commercial maps, USGS sheets were designed to serve engineers, planners, geologists, travelers, and local authorities, yet they possess a distinctive beauty of their own. The muted early twentieth-century palette, fine lettering, careful hydrography, and orderly topographic symbols create a visual language of understated sophistication. Here, that language is especially well suited to Virginia’s Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula, where elevation changes are gentle but meaningful, and where the pattern of streams, inlets, roads, and fields reveals the practical geography of rural life.
The Rappahannock River is one of the great presences on the map, anchoring the wider region and linking inland communities to Chesapeake Bay. Its tributaries and sheltered waters—Carter’s Creek, Fleets Bay, Fishing Bay, and the Little Wicomico River—show how deeply tidal geography shaped settlement in Lancaster and Middlesex Counties. Landings such as Roberts Landing speak to an era when water transport remained vital, carrying agricultural goods, seafood, timber, mail, and passengers between dispersed communities. The map’s shoreline detail is particularly evocative, tracing points, coves, and narrow waterways with a delicacy that makes the Chesapeake landscape legible as both a natural system and a working environment.
Irvington and Kilmarnock appear within a countryside of roads, trails, farms, small villages, and waterfront access points, offering a valuable glimpse of Virginia before the transformations of later highways, suburban development, and modern resort culture. The road network suggests connections that were still local and intimate, linking courthouse towns, churches, farms, mills, landings, and market centers across a landscape defined as much by waterways as by overland routes. The map captures a transitional moment in American mobility: the automobile age was emerging, yet many patterns of settlement still reflected older rhythms of agriculture, maritime commerce, and community exchange. In this sense, it is a document of both continuity and change.
As a historical object, “Kilmarnock” offers more than geographical information; it preserves the texture of early twentieth-century Tidewater Virginia. Its contour lines and place names give structure to a region of low ridges, marsh-edged creeks, cultivated fields, and Chesapeake horizons, while its careful survey style reveals how federal mapping brought order to complex local landscapes. For anyone drawn to Virginia history, coastal geography, or the quiet artistry of scientific cartography, this map is especially compelling. It records Irvington, Kilmarnock, Lancaster County, Middlesex County, and the surrounding waterways at a moment when their spatial relationships were still rooted in river landings, country roads, and the enduring pull of the Chesapeake Bay.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Irvington
- Rappahannock River
- Fleets Bay
- Fishing Bay
- Irvinton Point
- Lancaster County
- Middlesex County
- Carter's Creek
- Roberts Landing
- Godfrey Bay
- Little Wicomico River
- Kilmarnock
- Chesapeake Bay
- Various roads and trails throughout the region
- Other nearby villages and agricultural areas in the surrounding countryside
Historical context & cartographic details
- Historical 1:62,500 topographical map produced by the US Geological Survey
- Published in 1917
- Shows Irvington, Virginia and the surrounding area
- Created by the US Geological Survey, known for detailed and accurate topographical mapping
- Features contour lines indicating elevation changes
- Uses a muted color scheme typical of early 20th-century USGS maps
- Includes an ornate border reflecting the era of its production
- Displays rural and urban features characteristic of the landscape around Irvington
- Serves as a snapshot of early 20th-century Virginia, showing spatial patterns and developments that may have changed significantly over time
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.
We work with interior designers, hospitality businesses, property professionals, offices and corporate buyers on individual pieces and larger coordinated projects.
This map can be adapted for a particular wall, room or project, and our workshop can help coordinate the dimensions, material and framing before production.
- Exact, oversized and made-to-measure dimensions
- Custom framing, mounting and alternative materials
- Coordinated pieces for several rooms or locations
- Map personalisation, to mark important locations or add extra details
- Map and framing guidance from our workshop
- Local production for projects around the world
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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