1916 U.S. Coast Survey Chart of Frenchman's Bay, Mount Desert Island, Maine

Rare nautical chart illustrating Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park.

This is an uncommon U.S Coast and Geodetic Survey nautical chart or maritime map of Frenchman's Bay and the eastern part of Mount Desert Island. Centered on Bar Harbor, the map covers from Hancock, Maine to Great Gotts Island and from Echo Lake to the Schoodic Peninsula. It covers in detail the most popular parts of Acadia National Park including Jordan's Pond, Eagle Lake, the Bubbles, Otter Cove, Schooner Head, Anemone Cave, and many other hot spots. The map extends as far as South West harbor, in the lower left, and Somesvilles, just west of Sommes Sound. Cadillac Mountain is here identified as Green Mountain. Although rich in inland detail this is primarily a nautical chart and there are countless depth soundings throughout, as well as notes on ledges, shoals, and other undersea dangers. This chart is exceptionally scarce.

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...

Condition

Very good. Slight water stain, upper right. Upper margin extended.

References

OCLC 66905672.