The left woodcut depicts the now-famous creature with wings, claws, and a serpent-like neck, labeling the towns it distorts (including Andover, Lynn, Salem, Marblehead, and others). To the right is a straightforward district map of Essex County showing the two senatorial districts under the new law. The surrounding text is divided into “Natural History” and “Political History.” The first, reprinted from the Gazette, invents a monstrous genealogy for the gerrymander; the second details the law’s consequences—particularly how the Democratic-Republicans expanded their Senate majority from 21–19 to 29–11 despite losing the popular vote.
 

Measures 18 by 20 inches, minimal foxing, single sheet, blank on the reverse, nice condition. 
More details can be found on the History's Newsstand blog.
Note: While extremely rare, another is currently being offered at $35,000.

Background: The 1812 Massachusetts redistricting represents a watershed moment in American political history, marking the birth of the "Gerry-mander" and the first time a sophisticated visual caricature was used to successfully weaponize public opinion against legislative overreach. Orchestrated by the Democratic-Republican-controlled legislature to secure a permanent Senate majority, the law carved Essex County into a contorted shape—famously compared to a salamander by artist Gilbert Stuart—to dilute the voting power of the rival Federalist Party. Although Governor Elbridge Gerry was reportedly reluctant to sign the bill, his name became synonymous with the practice when the Boston Gazette published the iconic woodcut of the "monster" with wings and claws. The historical significance of this event lies in its devastating efficacy; despite a Federalist popular vote victory in the subsequent election, the redistricted lines allowed Republicans to expand their Senate lead from a narrow 21–19 to a dominant 29–11. This broadside preserved the event not merely as a local grievance, but as a permanent warning of how geographic manipulation can subvert the democratic process, establishing a visual and rhetorical template for partisan warfare that remains central to American electoral politics over two centuries later.