SOUTHAMPTON, MA – Boston Rare Maps, one of the country’s premier specialists in rare and unusual antique maps, announces the acquisition of a number of exciting new pieces, many among them rare and unusual non-cartographic materials.  Featured works include original artwork for Guiness, a historic broadside advertising a lurid “story paper,” and a political cartoon mocking Napoleon’s ultimately unsuccessful exile to Elba.  For additional information or to view the selection online, please visit www.BostonRareMaps.comor call (413) 527-4020.

Highlighting this selection of new acquisitions is an impressive piece of original art for a Guinees ad campaign.  Painted and signed by John Gilroy, the 1953 oil painting features the brand’s iconic toucan perched on a weather vane beneath an enticing slogan - “Lovely day for a GUINNESS.”  Starting in 1928, the advertising firm S.H. Benson was commissioned to produce advertisements for Guinness.  After three decades at the creative helm, the firm produced some of the company’s most recognizable images, many conceived and drawn by John Gilroy.  For each campaign, multiple designs were painted and submitted for rejection, revision and approval.  This particular piece is a treasure trove of Guinness history, with notes from the artist, an authentic S.H. Benson stamp and paint samples in the margins.  The canvas came from an archive of original oils for Guinness, which included two other variations of the image, both bearing 1953 dates.

Also on offer is a vivid broadside advertisement for The Boys of New York, a short-lived (1878-1879) New York story paper that targeted lurid tales to a youth market.  Created by George G. Small, this simple but brutally effective cover depicts a raised hand with a missing thumb.  Images like this one were common for the publication, which frequently emblazoned its covers with shocking or salacious imagery – hooded figures menacing a hero, unearthly aircraft, train robbers, damsels in distress – to catch the eye of young readers. Dime novel publisher Frank Tousey partnered writer/humorist George. G. Small to buy the paper in 1878.  Together, the two created the firm of Tousey & Small, which continued publication until hard times fell in the form of bankruptcy for Tousey and an untimely death from tuberculosis for Small.  This rare broadside represents one of the few surviving examples of this design, and of Tousey & Small’s brief partnership.

An anonymous political cartoon cleverly mocking Napoleon Bonaparte is also featured.  The engraving depicts the infamous leader being borne off to exile by a double-headed eagle.  Below him are a broken sword, a corpse-strewn battlefield and small maps of France, Germany, Italy and Spain representing his dismantled empire.  In his right hand he clutches a small sheet of paper labeled “Elba,” where he was to be exiled.  The cartoon bears the legend “Qui trop emrasse, mal étreint!,” literally  “He who grasps too much holds on to little.”  History would find Napoleon’s exile in Elba short-lived – he escaped in February 1815 – though he did ultimately meet permanent exile in St. Helena after his defeat at Waterloo less than a year later.

A number of additional maps are also featured in Boston Rare Maps latest acquisitions and are available for view at www.BostonRareMaps.com.

About Boston Rare Maps

Boston Rare Maps specializes in rare and unusual antique and vintage maps depicting all periods of American history.  They offer American historical prints, city views and a growing selection of illustrated broadsides.  They also serve a wide variety of clients, including private collectors and institutional map collections, as well as those seeking just a few special pieces for themselves or as gifts to clients, friends or family.