Rare Old Map of Sunset Beach, North Carolina by USGS, 1953: Calabash, Shallotte & Intracoastal Waterway
Restored in our workshop from the original 1953 map and printed to museum-grade archival standards. Full description
The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 25% off both. You can mix and match both maps and art.
No code is required. The offer is applied automatically.
Full terms and conditions
The Collector’s Offer applies to eligible works in standard made-to-order configurations. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded. Products with “personalised” or “custom” in their name are generally excluded.
The offer is administered as two separate automatic discounts: one for smaller formats and one for larger formats. To qualify, you must purchase two eligible works within the same format group. Maps and art prints may be mixed and matched within each group.
For example, two eligible A4 or 8 × 10 in prints qualify for 25% off both. One smaller-format print and one larger-format work do not qualify together, as items from different format groups cannot be combined to meet the two-item requirement.
No discount code is required. Any qualifying discount is applied automatically in your basket and at checkout.
The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 25% off both. You can mix and match both maps and art.
No code is required. The offer is applied automatically.
Full terms and conditions
The Collector’s Offer applies to eligible works in standard made-to-order configurations. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded. Products with “personalised” or “custom” in their name are generally excluded.
The offer is administered as two separate automatic discounts: one for smaller formats and one for larger formats. To qualify, you must purchase two eligible works within the same format group. Maps and art prints may be mixed and matched within each group.
For example, two eligible A4 or 8 × 10 in prints qualify for 25% off both. One smaller-format print and one larger-format work do not qualify together, as items from different format groups cannot be combined to meet the two-item requirement.
No discount code is required. Any qualifying discount is applied automatically in your basket and at checkout.
Restored in London • Printed and framed in Canada
Restored from the original 1953 map and printed to museum-grade archival standards. Full description
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Gift message & custom finish
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.
Every order is custom made, so if you need the size adjusted slightly, or printed on an unusual material, just let us know. We've done thousands of custom orders over the years, so there's (almost) nothing we can't manage.
You can also contact us before you order, if you prefer!
- Made in Canada for fast, safe delivery
- Arrives perfect - or we replace it
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Delivery options
Enjoy free standard delivery to anywhere in the world. Free delivery usually arrives in 3 business days. Express or and next-day options are available at the checkout.
Personalised pieces need time for design and proof approval before printing. More delivery info.
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Simply enter the recipient’s delivery address at checkout. Add a gift message in the order notes and we’ll print it on a branded card. We don’t include prices in the parcel.
Time to choose with confidence
Standard orders can be returned or exchanged within 90 days of delivery. Personalised and custom-made pieces are generally excluded from change-of-mind returns. See our returns policy.
Arrives perfect—or we replace it
If your order arrives damaged, send us a few photos and we’ll arrange a replacement free of charge.
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Own a piece of history
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Titled “Calabash,” this 1953 U.S. Geological Survey topographic map presents a finely observed portrait of the coastal borderlands around Sunset Beach, North...
Continue readingTitled “Calabash,” this 1953 U.S. Geological Survey topographic map presents a finely observed portrait of the coastal borderlands around Sunset Beach, North Carolina, at the 1:24,000 scale. Created by the USGS, the federal agency whose quadrangle maps became the authoritative language of American landscape, it records the area with scientific precision and understated elegance. The sheet captures a coastal world still defined more by rivers, marshes, roads, and settlement names than by resort development. Sunset Beach, Calabash, Ocean Isle Beach, Shallotte, and Little River appear within a wider matrix of waterways, lowlands, and sandy coastal margins, making the map both a navigational document and a historical snapshot of a place on the cusp of transformation.
The cartographic style is classic mid-century USGS: disciplined, legible, and rich in environmental information. Contour lines describe the modest but important variations in elevation across a low coastal plain, while blues delineate the Intracoastal Waterway, tidal creeks, river channels, and open water. Greens and marsh symbols distinguish wetland zones, swamps, and vegetated terrain, revealing how profoundly water shaped travel, settlement, and land use in this part of Brunswick County and the nearby South Carolina border region. Rather than dramatizing the landscape, the map allows its complexity to emerge through measured detail—roads, pathways, benchmarks, shorelines, and drainage patterns forming a precise visual grammar of the coastal Carolinas.
Sunset Beach is one of the map’s most evocative features, shown in an era before its later growth into a celebrated seaside community. The barrier-island setting, nearby marshes, and the linear presence of the Intracoastal Waterway all speak to the delicate geography that made this stretch of coast both beautiful and vulnerable. Ocean Isle Beach and the surrounding coastal strands suggest the early framework of communities that would later become important destinations along North Carolina’s southern shore. The map preserves the region before widespread subdivision, bridges, and dense seasonal development dramatically altered the relationship between beach, mainland, and marsh.
Inland and along the waterways, the map reveals another layer of coastal life. Calabash, now widely associated with seafood and maritime culture, appears as part of a larger network of small communities tied to creeks, roads, and the nearby Little River area. Shallotte, the Lockwood Folly River, Stafford Bay, Coles Swamp, and the Waccamaw River system situate the map within a broader hydrological landscape of blackwater streams, wetlands, and estuarine corridors. These names carry the history of Native, colonial, agricultural, and maritime use, while the mapped roads and pathways show how movement through the region depended on negotiating waterlogged ground and modest rises in terrain.
As a historical document, “Calabash” is especially compelling because it records the southeastern North Carolina coast before the accelerating postwar reshaping of shoreline communities. In 1953, the area’s geography was still legible in older patterns: dispersed settlements, working waterways, forested tracts, and extensive marshlands. Today, comparison with modern maps highlights profound changes in land use, population density, transportation, and coastal development. Yet the fundamental landscape remains visible here—the rivers, swamps, tidal flats, barrier beaches, and low relief that continue to define the region. For collectors, historians, and admirers of coastal cartography, this map offers a beautifully detailed view of a beloved shoreline at a pivotal moment in its modern history.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Sunset Beach
- Calabash
- Shallotte
- Little River
- Ocean Isle Beach
- Waccamaw River
- Lockwood Folly River
- Intracoastal Waterway
- Stafford Bay
- Coles Swamp
- Marshes and wetlands near the coast
- Various contours and elevation markers
- Roads and pathways visible on the map
Historical context & cartographic details
- Produced by the U.S. Geological Survey as a historical 1:24,000 topographical map.
- Dated 1953, with no separate imprint year specified.
- Published by the U.S. Geological Survey, a scientific agency of the United States government known for authoritative topographic mapping.
- Uses a color-coded cartographic scheme to represent elevation and land types.
- Shows contours and waterways in varying shades of green and blue.
- Illustrates the region’s coastal terrain, including elevation changes, marshes, and shoreline features.
- Represents a historical snapshot of the area before extensive modern development.
- Useful for comparing earlier land use and population density with present-day conditions.
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 18x24in (45x60cm) 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 “Calabash,” this 1953 U.S. Geological Survey topographic map presents a finely observed portrait of the coastal borderlands around Sunset Beach, North Carolina, at the 1:24,000 scale. Created by the USGS, the federal agency whose quadrangle maps became the authoritative language of American landscape, it records the area with scientific precision and understated elegance. The sheet captures a coastal world still defined more by rivers, marshes, roads, and settlement names than by resort development. Sunset Beach, Calabash, Ocean Isle Beach, Shallotte, and Little River appear within a wider matrix of waterways, lowlands, and sandy coastal margins, making the map both a navigational document and a historical snapshot of a place on the cusp of transformation.
The cartographic style is classic mid-century USGS: disciplined, legible, and rich in environmental information. Contour lines describe the modest but important variations in elevation across a low coastal plain, while blues delineate the Intracoastal Waterway, tidal creeks, river channels, and open water. Greens and marsh symbols distinguish wetland zones, swamps, and vegetated terrain, revealing how profoundly water shaped travel, settlement, and land use in this part of Brunswick County and the nearby South Carolina border region. Rather than dramatizing the landscape, the map allows its complexity to emerge through measured detail—roads, pathways, benchmarks, shorelines, and drainage patterns forming a precise visual grammar of the coastal Carolinas.
Sunset Beach is one of the map’s most evocative features, shown in an era before its later growth into a celebrated seaside community. The barrier-island setting, nearby marshes, and the linear presence of the Intracoastal Waterway all speak to the delicate geography that made this stretch of coast both beautiful and vulnerable. Ocean Isle Beach and the surrounding coastal strands suggest the early framework of communities that would later become important destinations along North Carolina’s southern shore. The map preserves the region before widespread subdivision, bridges, and dense seasonal development dramatically altered the relationship between beach, mainland, and marsh.
Inland and along the waterways, the map reveals another layer of coastal life. Calabash, now widely associated with seafood and maritime culture, appears as part of a larger network of small communities tied to creeks, roads, and the nearby Little River area. Shallotte, the Lockwood Folly River, Stafford Bay, Coles Swamp, and the Waccamaw River system situate the map within a broader hydrological landscape of blackwater streams, wetlands, and estuarine corridors. These names carry the history of Native, colonial, agricultural, and maritime use, while the mapped roads and pathways show how movement through the region depended on negotiating waterlogged ground and modest rises in terrain.
As a historical document, “Calabash” is especially compelling because it records the southeastern North Carolina coast before the accelerating postwar reshaping of shoreline communities. In 1953, the area’s geography was still legible in older patterns: dispersed settlements, working waterways, forested tracts, and extensive marshlands. Today, comparison with modern maps highlights profound changes in land use, population density, transportation, and coastal development. Yet the fundamental landscape remains visible here—the rivers, swamps, tidal flats, barrier beaches, and low relief that continue to define the region. For collectors, historians, and admirers of coastal cartography, this map offers a beautifully detailed view of a beloved shoreline at a pivotal moment in its modern history.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Sunset Beach
- Calabash
- Shallotte
- Little River
- Ocean Isle Beach
- Waccamaw River
- Lockwood Folly River
- Intracoastal Waterway
- Stafford Bay
- Coles Swamp
- Marshes and wetlands near the coast
- Various contours and elevation markers
- Roads and pathways visible on the map
Historical context & cartographic details
- Produced by the U.S. Geological Survey as a historical 1:24,000 topographical map.
- Dated 1953, with no separate imprint year specified.
- Published by the U.S. Geological Survey, a scientific agency of the United States government known for authoritative topographic mapping.
- Uses a color-coded cartographic scheme to represent elevation and land types.
- Shows contours and waterways in varying shades of green and blue.
- Illustrates the region’s coastal terrain, including elevation changes, marshes, and shoreline features.
- Represents a historical snapshot of the area before extensive modern development.
- Useful for comparing earlier land use and population density with present-day conditions.
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 18x24in (45x60cm) 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 24 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 24 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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