1857 U.S. Coast Survey Chart or Map of Boston Harbor, Massachusetts

Detailed and attractive map of Boston Harbor.

This is a hand colored 1857 U.S. Coast Survey chart of Boston Harbor. The chart depicts from Massachusetts Bay through Boston Bay and into Boston Harbor and Boston itself. The detail of the chart is incredible. The bay is shown in precise detail; all the islands are labeled and the coastline of these islands and of Massachusetts are rendered with an intense attention to detail. Inlets, coves and bays abound, as well as river mouths. Boston is not the only city which is labeled, Cambridge, Charleston, Winnissimmet, Quincy Village, Newcomb's Landing and several others are depicted on the chart. The wharves of Boston Harbor are easily distinguished.

More information is included on this chart than simply the depiction of the bay and harbor. Depth soundings are given throughout the bay and harbor. A large paragraph of sailing instructions dominates the upper right corner, followed by a long list of ranges and dangers. 'Remarks on the set of the Tidal Currents' sit above Centre Village and several other urban areas along the upper border. Along the left side, near Roxbury, is a table of abbreviations used on the chart, as well as a table of tides and tidal currents. Along the bottom margin is a table of lighthouses and light vessels, as well as six different coastal views to aid mariners in navigation of the bay and harbor.

This chart was prepared under the direction of A.D. Bache, Superintendent of the U.S. Coast Survey for his Report of the Superintendent of the United States Coast Survey in 1857.

Cartographer

The Office of the Coast Survey (1807 - present), founded in 1807 by President Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin, is the oldest scientific organization in the U.S. Federal Government. Jefferson created the "Survey of the Coast," as it was then called, to produce accurate navigational charts of the new nation's coasts and harbors. The first two superintendents defined the spirit of the Coast Survey. The Coast Survey's first superintendent was Swiss immigrant and West Point mathematics professor Ferdinand Hassler. Under Hassler's direction, from 1816 to 1843, the Coast Survey established its ideological and scientific foundations. These included the use of the most advanced techniques and most sophisticated equipment, along with unstinting attention to detail. Hassler devised a labor-intensive triangulation system that divided the entire coast into a series of enormous triangles. These were then subdivided into smaller triangulation units, which were individually surveyed. No one had ever attempted this exacting technique on such a massive scale. As a result, Hassler and the Coast Survey under his leadership earned a reputation for uncompromising dedication to accuracy and excellence. Unfortunately, despite being a masterful surveyor, Hassler was abrasive and politically unpopular, and Congress cut funding for the Coast Survey twice. Nonetheless, Hassler led the Coast Survey until his death in 1843, when Alexander Dallas Bache, Benjamin Franklin's great-grandson, took the helm. Bache was fully dedicated to the principles established by Hassler, but proved more politically astute and successfully lobbied Congress to fund the endeavor generously. Under A. D. Bache's leadership, the Coast Survey completed its most important work. During his long tenure with the Coast Survey, from 1843 to 1865, Bache steadfastly advocated American science and navigation and, in fact, founded the American Academy of Sciences. Benjamin Pierce succeeded Bache and ran the Survey from 1867 to 1874. Pierce was succeeded by Carlile Pollock Patterson, Superintendent from 1874 to 1881. In 1878, under Patterson's superintendence, the U.S. Coast Survey was reorganized as the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (USCGS) to accommodate both topographic and nautical surveys. Today, the Coast Survey is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as the National Geodetic Survey.   Further Details...

Source

Bache, A. D., Report of the Superintendent of the United States Coast Survey, (Washington) 1857.    

Condition

Very good. Wear along original fold lines. Backed on archival tissue for stability.