A Scarce 19th-Century New York City Pocket Guide with Map

[John Disturnell]. A GUIDE TO THE CITY OF NEW YORK; CONTAINING AN ALPHABETICAL LIST OF STREETS, &C. ACCOMPANIED BY A CORRECT MAP. New York: J. Disturnell, 1837. Leather boards lettered in gilt on the front cover and bordered in blind. 14, [2]pp. With engraved frontispiece featuring New York University, title, list of piers, alphabetical list of streets, description of wards, and additional information about the city such as population, fire districts, and more. Folding map tipped in to rear paste-down, titled Map of the City of New-York... for New York as it is in 1838, with contemporary hand-coloring and outlines, drawn by D. H. Burr and engraved by S. Stiles & Co; a detailed map featuring New York from the North River to Williamsburg, and from Murray Hill Square in the North down to Brooklyn; with key provided in the text as the final leaf.

4 3/4 x 3 1/4 in.; map 12 3/4 x 11 in.

From a Private North Carolina Collection

David H. Burr was an important American cartographer. He produced an atlas of the state of New York, and he held numerous positions in the United States government as surveyor, draftsman, and topographer.

Boards sun faded, with scuffing, staining, and wear to corners and spine ends; interior with spotting, areas of toning and discoloration, leaves slightly loose in binding, and one early hand-written correction; faint ownership information in pencil on free endpaper; the map tissue-backed, likely as issued, with mostly subtle spotting, discoloration, and toning, and with a couple of small tears, two areas of separation at horizontal folds (repaired), and a minor edge fold. A good to very good example of this scarce guide.