Personalized Old Map (USA) – Make Your Own 1800s and 1900s USGS Topo Zipcode Map
This is a fully personalized map of your hometown, street or zipcode, with your house (or someone else’s!) focused in the middle of the map.
Your map will be custom-made to order from real US Topo maps originally published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
My personalised maps are perfect as birthday, housewarming and anniversary gifts. (And of course, as they’re printed on paper, you would get bonus points for giving one of these maps for a paper wedding anniversary!)
Please note that these personalised maps are only available for locations in the 50 states of the United States of America, including Alaska.
I have a separate product if you’re looking for a personalised map of England, Wales and Scotland.
Or for something completely different, check out my personalised modern maps.
How to order a personalised map of the US
You need to tell me three things when you order: an address to focus the map on, a preferred age of the map, and optionally an accent colour.
The U.S. Geological Survey started mapping the country at the end of the 1800s, and continues to map the country today. For most locations, I can make a personalised map dating back to around 1890 or 1900, all the way up until the latest maps published in 2019. If you don’t pick a decade, I will try to find the oldest map that has your house on it.
My default accent colour is black, but if you would like another colour, let me know. Most dark colours look good. Lighter colours can fade into the beige paper a bit.
If you’d rather not have your address at the bottom, or if you’d like a pointer or marker to highlight your house, please say so in the text box.
A variety of sizes are available, all the way from 8×10 inches (20x25cm) up to a map that is a few metres wide. No matter what size you order, the text and map will be sharp and readable.
If you would like different customisation or personalisation, please get in touch before you order. I have been customising maps for decades and can do almost anything you can imagine to make your map truly unique. Likewise, if you’re looking for a very large or complex map, get in touch and I’ll try my best to accommodate your needs.
The model in the listing images is holding the 24×18 inch (60x45cm) version of this map.
This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father’s Day, work leaving or housewarming gift for anyone who is looking for something more personal.
During very busy periods, such as Christmas, we may not have time to send you a draft of your personalised order. This is because we want to get everyone’s order sent out in time, and the approval process can delay delivery by 1-2 days. Contact me if you must see a draft of your order before we send it out and we’ll do our best to accommodate you.
This map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you’d like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.
