MASSACHUSETTS OFFICIAL MAPS
Notes:
It appears that Massachusetts issued two series of maps from the 1940s into the early 1960s (possibly earlier and later as well) – a “Route Map” and a “Tourist Map.” These are divided into separate lists below. The Route Maps were issued by the Dept. of Public Works, and appear to have been issued to show road conditions for a given month or other period of time. The Tourist maps were issued by the Development and Industrial Commission (1949 to 1952-53) and the Department of Commerce (1954). Unfortunately, not many maps have been examined as of yet for these lists, so
these classifications may change as more examples are discovered.
Official Route Maps from the late 1920s until 1955-56 were first printed with a large blank area at the lower left. These were then overprinted in color at various times during the year (or even the following year in some cases) with road conditions for a certain date or time period. The overprint dates are indicated in the list below by “known versions” under the main dated map listing. Following the map listings, there are lists of printing codes. These are listed with the code for the base map first, which generally appears on the back cover of the folded map, followed by the codes for the individual printings of each issue, generally appearing inside the map. Quantities of maps printed are indicated in units of 1,000 (i.e. 75M indicates 75,000) – it is likely that the base maps were printed first with the indicated number of copies printed, then a smaller set of each were overprinted with that later updates. For example, for 1935 70,000 base maps were printed (70m code on back cover), then of these 70,000, 22,000 were overprinted in June 1935 with the July 1 conditions (22M-6-’35 code), and another 20,000 were overprinted in October 1935 with the Oct. 15 conditions (20M-10-’35 code). Another batch were also overprinted in May, but this code is unknown as of yet.
The Department of Commerce also issued a map with the title “Massachusetts – The Historic Vacationland / A Travel Map” from at least 1956 through 1964. These maps are not road maps in the traditional sense, but are included.
The 1957 to 1962-63 maps are in the format of a 16 page booklet, with sections of the state highway map on different pages. The dimensions of the booklet are 7.5 x 11, which then folds in half to the dimensions listed below.
Latest updates: 11/17/20-added 1942; codes for May 1935 & Apr. 1954; 12/26/23-removed extraneous information
Massachusetts Official Highway & Route Maps:
1922; dtd lgnd; no cvr and printed one side only with fabric backing; unfolded 49.5 x 32
1926; dtd lgnd; no cvr and printed one side only; 33.75 x 21.75
1927; dtd lgnd (Jul 1): no cvr and printed one side only; 34 x 22
1929; reported by PC (dtd cvr; bw txt cvr with st seal)
1930; dtd cvr; bw txt cvr with st seal; 3.75 x 8.5
1931; dtd cvr; otherwise same as 1930
1932; dtd cvr; bw photo of State House; 3.75 x 8.5
1933; dtd cvr; bw txt cvr with st seal & photo “Public Works Building – Boston”; 3.75 x 8.5
1934; dtd cvr; bw photo “Public Works Building – Boston”; 3.75 x 8.5
1935; dtd cvr; bw photo “Public Works Building – Boston”; 3.75 x 8.5
1936; dtd cvr; otherwise same as 1935
1937; dtd map title; bw painting “U.S. Frigate Constitution Old Ironsides”; 3.75 x 8.5
1938; dtd map title; otherwise same as 1937
1939; dtd cvr; bw photo “The Minute Man – 1775″; 3.75 x 8.5
1940; dtd cvr; bw painting “Spirit of ‘76”; 3.75 x 8.5
1941; dtd cvr; bw photo of Native American man on horseback “Appeal to the Great Spirit”; 3.75 x 8.5
1942; dtd code; otherwise same as 1941 (dtd 1941 cvr) but with 1942 printing code on back cvr
1945; dtd cvr; bw photo of “Plymouth Rock”; 4.25 x 7.25
1947; dtd cvr; clr photo of boats in harbor; 4.25 x 7.25
1948-49; dtd cvr; clr photo of bridge; 4.25 x 7.25
1949-50; dtd cvr; clr photo of lighthouse; 4.25 x 7.25
1950-51; dtd cvr; clr photo of a bridge; 4.25 x 7.25
1951-52; dtd cvr; clr photo of boats in harbor, outline of Cape Cod and islands; 4.25 x 7.25
1952-53, dtd cvr; clr photo of divided hwy; 4.25 x 7.25
1953-54; dtd cvr; clr photo of Gay Head Cliffs; 4.25 x 7.25
1954-55; dtd cvr; clr photo “View across Connecticut River…”; 4.25 x 7.25
1955-56; dtd cvr; clr photo of sailboat; 4.25 x 7.25
1957; dtd cvr; booklet with bw sketch of river & trees, clr dwg of bridge; 5.5 x 7.5
1958-59; dtd cvr; booklet with clr dwg of minutemen, highways, and airships on cvr; 5.5 x 7.5
1959-60; dtd cvr; booklet with clr dwg of giant Native American man standing on divided hwy; 5.5 x 7.5
1960-61; dtd cvr; booklet with photo of beach inset over aerial photo of divided hwy; 5.5 x 7.5
1961-62; dtd cvr; booklet with clr dwg of state map behind Native American boy; 5.5 x 7.5
1962-63; dtd cvr; booklet with dwg of st seal over outline map of Mass.; 5.5 x 7.5
1964; dtd cvr; clr photo of cars rounding hwy curve by fall trees; 4.25 x 8
1965-66; dtd cvr; clr photo of 2 boys playing with toy trucks above divided hwy; 4.25 x 8
1967; dtd cvr; clr photo of bridge over bay & battleship; 4.25 x 8
1968; dtd cvr; clr photo of divided hwy through forests and farms; 4.25 x 8
1969; dtd cvr; 2 clr photos (bridge, fwy) with dwg of state flag; 4.25 x 8
1969-70; dtd cvr; otherwise same as 1969
1970; dtd cvr; clr photo of wide curving divided hwy; 4.25 x 8
1971; dtd cvr; clr photo of fwy interchange through trees; 4.25 x 8
[2 known versions: { }, {“Issued by Mass. Dept. of Public Works” and address on bk cvr}]
1972; dtd cvr; brown tint transportation theme dwgs with clr photo of fwy interchange inset; 4.25 x 8
1973-74; dtd cvr; clr dwgs of signs and historical images; 4.25 x 8
[2 known versions: ,{plain back cvr}, {Issued by Mass. Dept. of Public Works on back cvr}]
1975-76; dtd cvr; blue silhouettes of ship, bridge, soldier; 4.25 x 8
1977-78; dtd cvr; 3 clr photos of woman (with man, with man on stairs, alone); 4.25 x 8
[2 known versions: {“Issued by…” on bk cvr}, {“Prepared by…” on bk cvr}]
1979-80; dtd cvr; 3 clr photos (skyscraper, statue, fishermen); 4.25 x 8
[2 known versions: {“Issued by…” on bk cvr}, {“Prepared by…” on bk cvr}]
1980-81; dtd cvr; 4 clr photos (“Hyannisport Sightseeing”, etc.); 4.25 x 8
1981-82 A; dtd cvr; otherwise same as 1980-81
1981-82 B; dtd cvr; 6 clr photos (Paul Revere statue, lighthouse, etc); 4.25 x 8
1983-84; dtd cvr; clr dwg of Boston skyline; 4.25 x 8
1984-85; dtd cvr; otherwise very similar to 1983-84
1986; dtd cprt; 5 clr photos (statue, church, row house, inside with flags, fluters); 3.75 x 8.5
1988; dtd cprt; 6 clr photos (people by bus, skiers, etc.); 3.75 x 8.5
1991; reported by PC
1992; reported by PC
1994; dtd cvr; clr photo of rd & autumn trees; 3.75 x 8.5
[3 known versions: { },
{“We’d love to show you around” replaces cvr date, diff font/color for title},
{“Office of Travel & Tourism” and “Printed on recycled paper” added to cvr}]
1998; dtd back cvr; clr photo of curving road through fall foliage; 3.75 x 8.5
1999; dtd back cvr; clr photo of straight road through fall foliage; 3.75 x 8.5
2001; dtd back cvr (Sept.); clr photo of buildings and boats; 3.75 x 8.5
2003; dtd back cvr; clr photo of bicycles parked along fence at beach; 3.75 x 8.5
2006; dtd cvr; otherwise same as 2003
2007; dtd cvr; clr photo “The Swan Boats, Public Garden, Boston”; 3.75 x 8.5
2009; dtd cvr; clr photo “Ziemba Farms, Adams”; 3.75 x 7.75
2012; dtd cvr; 5 clr photos (train, plane, etc.); 3.75 x 7.75
Massachusetts Tourist Maps:
1947; dtd printing code; green tinted photo of tree and house in valley; 8.5 x 11
1949; dtd printing code; clr photo of woman with bicycle on beach; 4 x 8.25
1950; dtd printing code; otherwise same as 1949
1951; dtd printing code; otherwise same as 1949
1952; dtd printing code; clr photo of many people on beach; 4.25 x 7.5
1952-53; dtd lgnd and code; clr photo of 2 women with flowers on beach; 4.25 x 7.25
1954; dtd printing code; clr photo “Gay Head Cliffs, Martha’s Vineyard”; 4.25 x 7.25
1958; dtd printing code; clr photo of country road in autumn; 3.75 x 9.25
1959; dtd printing code; clr photo of road in autumn; 7.5 x 9.25
1970; dtd printing code; clr photo of Old Ironsides; 8.5 x 11
1981; dtd printing code; 4 clr photos (Paul Revere statue, etc.); 4 x 8
1992-93; dtd inside; clrzd photo of rd through flowering trees; 4 x 9
Historic Massachusetts Travel Maps:
1956; dtd printing code; 7 clr dwgs (fisherman, st cptl bldg, etc.); 5.5 x 8.5
1958; dtd printing code: otherwise same as 1956
1960; dtd printing code; otherwise same as 1956
1962; dtd printing code; otherwise same as 1956
1964; dtd printing code; otherwise same as 1956
Massachusetts Route Maps & Official Highway Maps Code List:
1930: {no code on cvr}
May: {?}
Jul: {17m-6-’30. No. 8714.}, July 1, 1930 conditions
Sep: {?}
1931: {no code on cvr}
Apr: {?}
Jun: {18M-5-’31. No. 1612.}, June 1, 1931 conditions
Jul: {?}
Oct: {?}
Nov: {?}
1932: {?}
Apr: {?}
Dec – Snow removal map: {?}
1933: {75M 3-33 No. 7814}
Apr: {17M-3-’33. No. 7816}, April 1, 1933 conditions
Sep: {20M-9-33. No. 7818}, Sept. 15, 1933 conditions
1934: {?}
May: {?}
Sep: {?}
1935: {70m 4-35 No. 4421}
May: {16M-5-35 No. 4422}, May 15, 1935 conditions
Jul: {22M-6-’35. NO. 4423}, July 1, 1935 conditions
Oct: {20M-10-’35 NO. 4424}, Oct. 15, 1935 conditions
1936: {80M-4-36-No. 7644}
Sep: {?}
May 1937: {20M-5-’37. NO. 7648}, May 15, 1937 conditions
1937: {44M-7-37-No. 1244}
Aug: {22M-8-’37. NO. 1245}, Aug. 2, 1937 conditions
1938: {65M 4 38 No. 3717}
Sep: {26M-9-’38. NO. 4889}, Sept. 15, 1938 conditions
1939: {70M (2) 4-39 No. 7180}
Apr: {?}
Jun: {?}
Dec: {27m-11-’39 No. 8903}, Dec. 1, 1939 conditions
1940: {50m-5-40. D-99539}
Jul: {16 m-6-40. 3128}, July 1, 1940 conditions
1941: {60m-4-41-5751}
May: {18m-5-41-6124}, May 15, 1941 conditions
Oct: {?}
1942: {2M-6-42-9736}
1945: {10M-7-45-16541}
1947: {50m-2-47-20524.}
May: {?}
Apr 1948: {29M-5- 48. No. 23373.}, Apr. 19 – July 1, 1948 conditions
1948-49: {60M-7-48-24096.}
Aug 1948: {5m-10-48 No. 24724}, Aug. 15, 1948 – Apr. 1949 conditions
1949-50: {75m-7-49-26649}
Aug 1949: {25M(a)-7-49. No. 26736}, Aug. – Oct. 1949 conditions
1950-51: {60M-8-50-902661}
Jul 1951: {20M-6-51 No. 904872}, July – Sept. 1951 conditions
1951-52: {75M-8-51-905176}
Apr: {25M-3-52-906477}, April – July 1952 conditions
Jun: {30M-6-52-907396}, July – Oct. 1952 conditions
1952-53: {75M-Form PWD-1-9-52-907492}
Nov 1952: {20M-11-52-908290}, Nov. 1952 – April 1953 conditions
Apr 1953: {?}
1953-54: {?}
Nov 1953: {?}
Apr 1954: {25M-3-54-911688}
Jul 1954: {?}
1954-55: {100M-Form PWD-1-8-54-912949P}
?: {?}, Oct. 1954 – April 1955 conditions
Apr 1955: {35M-3-55-914372}, April – July 1955 conditions
1955-56: {?}
Mar 1956, {?}
Jul 1956, {?}
1957: {100M-Form PWD-1}
1958-59: {Form-PWD-1 125M-6-58-922981}
1959-60: {Form-PWD-1 125M-8-59-925953}
1960-61: {Form-PWD-1 125M-9-60-928296}
1961-62: {Form-PWD-1 125M-6-61-930998}
1962-63: {Form PWD-1, 165M-6-62-933529}
1964: {no codes}
1965-66: {Form PWD-1 125M-6-65 940821},
{Rev. 5-66, 25M-5-66-942622}
1967: {Rev. Jan. 1967 Form PWD-1 125 M-1-67 944331}
1968: {Rev. Jan. 1968, Form PWD 1 150M-10-67 946135},
{Rev. Jan. 1968, Form PWD 1-25M-8-68-947977}
1969: {Rev. Jan. 1969, Form PWD 1 175M-2-69},
{Rev. Jan. 1969, Form PWD 1-100M-5-69-949444}
1969-70: {?}
1970: {Rev. Jan. 1970, Form PWD 1 225M-1-70-046173}
1971: {Rev. Jan. 1971, Form PWD 1 225M-3-71-048654}
1972: {Rev. Jan. 1972, Form PWD 1-200M-1-72-051015}
1973-74: {Rev. Jan., 1973, Form PWD 1-73-075432},
{Rev. Jan. 1973, Form CDD 1-73-075433},
{Rev. Jan. 1973, Form CDD 150M-5-74-091598},
{PWD-60M-5-74-091905}
1975-76: {150M-4-75-109721},
{Rev. Jan. 1975, Form PWD-1 150M-4-75-109722},
{Rev. Jan. 1975, 150M-1-76- 129719},
{Rev. Jan. 1975, 150M-6-76-128898}
1977-78: {150M-3-77-129434},
{150M-3-77-129435},
{150M-6-78-148432},
{100M-6-78-148433}
1979-80: {100M-4-79-150887},
{200M-4-79-150888},
{120M-3-80-152582}
1980-81: {50M-6-80-152795}
1981-82 A: {50M-6-80-152795}
1981-82 B: {100M-5-81-160486},
{50M-12-81-164955}
1983-84: {100M-583-170982},
{50M-284-176160}
1984-85: {250M-284-176160},
{50 M-5-85-803931}
1986: {50M-6-86-811 361}
1988: {50M-6-88-803 411}
Massachusetts Tourist Maps Code List:
1947: {10M-6-47-21402P}
1949: {50M-6-49-26406}
1950: {50M-1-50-900,910}
1951: {50M-4-51 No. 904308}
1952: {75M-12-51-905934}
1952-53: {100M-10-52-908078}
1954: {100M-1-54-911231}
1958: {100M-11-58-924105}
1959: {100M-10-59-926443}
1970: {300M-12-70-048363}
1981: {50M-12-81-164955}
Historic Massachusetts Travel Maps Code List:
1956: {150M-3-56-916997}
1958: {50M-10-58-923932}
1960: {50M-9-60-928745}
1962: {50M-3-62-932811}
1964: {1,000M-4-64-937759}