Colour of an Old City: A Map of Boston Decorative and Historical

Houghton Mifflin’ first pictorial map and Clark and Olsen’s first joint venture, which they began in September of 1925: “spending six months of ‘exhaustive study and incessant sketching’, with much research taking place in the Boston Athenaeum and the Boston Public Library” (Hornsby page 17). As a result, the map is jam-packed full of graphic detail, explained in captions throughout and in a legend that reads: “What It’s All About! Rather like a crazy quilt of interesting facts and fancies built, Tis no engineering feat of surveying miles and buildings neat. But in some corner if you search you’ll find out where to go to church: Baptist, Episcopal, Unitarian, and for the dusty Antiquarian Who seeks the spots of legend in fame, the Cradle of Liberty - illustrious name. The old North Church and State House Grand and for burial grounds there’s quite A demand. For the intellectually inclined, libraries and halls we’ve Kept in mind. Theatres, hotels and City Hall, narrow streets and wider mall. Docks, wharves, ferry boats, swans, cows and billy goats… All before your eyes notwithstanding the small size, we offer in the ditty, Colour of an Old City”.

The maps reproduced in border of the map are: 'Investment of Boston, 1776'; 'Smith’s Map of 1614'; 'Revere Cut of 1760'; 'Bonner’s map of 1722'; 'Lescarbot’s Map of 1612'; and 'Old and New Boston'.

Clark and Olsen collaborated on two other maps of Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. which all hold much in common with Gill’s 'Wonderground Map of London', although this, their first map was by far the most successful.