1794 Laurie and Whittle Nautical Map of Port Royal, South Carolina: Beaufort, Hilton Head

Best map of Beaufort during the American Revolution.

A superb example of the John Gascoigne map of Port Royal, modern-day Beaufort, South Carolina, here it is in its 1794 Laurie and Whittle edition. This map represents the best regional cartography available during the Revolutionary War Period, and it retained its relevance more than a decade later when this edition was published.

A Closer Look

Coverage embraces present-day Beaufort County, South Carolina, highlighting the natural harbor of Port Royal Sound, formed by a chain of Sea Islands separated by an intricate network of tidal channels. The Broad River enters from the north, while the sound is bordered by Port Royal, Parris, and Trench's (now Hilton Head) Islands, as well as Lady's and Saint Helena Islands. The town of Beaufort appears at the top center, with numerous nearby plantations individually named. The map additionally illustrates topography, vegetation, bodies of water, drainage, coastlines, ports, bays, anchorage, shoals, islands, rocks, and depths in fathoms. Relief shown with hachures. Arrows indicate currents.

In its 1776 first edition, this chart was the finest and most detailed map available in the early days of the American Revolutionary War, and was used extensively by commanders on both sides. This is significant, as Port Royal Sound was one of the South's finest harbors, and both sides believed that possession of the area was of key strategic importance.

The present edition, 1794, postdates the war, but has received numerous updates to reflect changes in property ownership, land development, and demographics. For example, it is noted in Trench's Island (Hilton Head) that there were 'Twenty Five Families on this Island' and adds numerous plantations. These mostly date to the Robert Sayer and John Bennett second edition, and, aside from the updated imprint, this map uses the same plate.

Publication History and Census

This map first appeared in 1776, when it was published by Thomas Jefferys, heir to the Faden firm, in response to urgent Revolutionary War needs for an accurate map of this strategic coastline. The cartography dates to John Gasciogne's surveys conducted in 1728-1736 on the HMS Alborough. Gasciogne's manuscript draft was copied in manuscript by Francis Swaine. The Swaine manuscript survives at the British Library, though it is not clear if this is the maritime painter Francis Swaine (1725 - 1782), or his father, a Naval Messenger of the same name. Swaine's manuscript eventually came into the hands of John Faden, who used it as the basis of the first edition of this map, likely c. 1770. The map plates and rights were then sold to Sayer and Bennet and subsequently acquired by Laurie and Whittle, who republished it in a final edition of 1794 (present example) with major updates throughout.

Cartographers

John Gascoigne (January 5, 1695 - May 29, 1753) was a British marine surveyor and sea captain active in the mid-18th century. Gascoigne was born in Halesowen, Worcestershire, England. He joined the Royal Navy as an Able Seaman in 1706, rising through the ranks to captain by 1727. A year later, while stationed in Jamaica in 1728, Gascoigne was given command of his first ship, the HMS Alborough. He was assigned to the Northern American colonies to conduct a hydrographic survey of Port Royal Harbor and the coastline as far north as Charleston. He arrived in South Carolina in the summer of that year and committed himself to survey work through 1734. He must have found Port Royal appealing, as in 1729 he acquired title to St John's Island (Pickney Island). When he returned the Alborough to England in 1734, his passengers included the founder of Georgia, James Oglethorpe, and a delegation of Creek Indians. In subsequent years, he saw active service during the War of Jenkins' Ear (1739 - 1748). He retired in 1746 with the rank of Rear Admiral.   Further Details...

Laurie and Whittle (fl. 1794 - 1858) were London, England, based map and atlas publishers active in the late 18th and early 19th century. Generally considered to be the successors to the Robert Sayer firm, Laurie and Whittle was founded by Robert Laurie (c. 1755 - 1836) and James Whittle (1757-1818). Robert Laurie was a skilled mezzotint engraver and is known to have worked with Robert Sayer on numerous projects. James Whittle was a well-known London socialite and print seller whose Fleet Street shop was a popular haunt for intellectual luminaries. The partnership began taking over the general management of Sayer's firm around 1787; however, they did not alter the Sayer imprint until after Sayer's death in 1794. Apparently Laurie did most of the work in managing the firm and hence his name appeared first in the "Laurie and Whittle" imprint. Together Laurie and Whittle published numerous maps and atlases, often bringing in other important cartographers of the day, including Kitchin, Faden, Jefferys and others to update and modify their existing Sayer plates. Robert Laurie retired in 1812, leaving the day to day management of the firm to his son, Richard Holmes Laurie (1777 - 1858). Under R. H. Laurie and James Whittle, the firm renamed itself "Whittle and Laurie". Whittle himself died six years later in 1818, and thereafter the firm continued under the imprint of "R. H. Laurie". After R. H. Laurie's death the publishing house and its printing stock came under control of Alexander George Findlay, who had long been associated with Laurie and Whittle. Since, Laurie and Whittle has passed through numerous permeations, with part of the firm still extant as an English publisher of maritime or nautical charts, 'Imray, Laurie, Norie and Wilson Ltd.' The firm remains the oldest surviving chart publisher in Europe.   Further Details...

Condition

Very good. Even overall toning.

References

c.f. Rumsey 14471.042. Sellers, John R. and  Van Ee, Patricia, Maps and Charts of North America, #1529. Stevens, H. and Tree, R., 'Comparative Cartography', in Tooley, R. V., The Mapping of America, #71(d). Cumming, W., The Southeast in Early Maps, #204.