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1851 U. S. Coast Survey Map of the Carolina and Virginia Coast (Pamlico Sound, Albemarle Sound)

SketchDAlbemarleSound-uscs-1851
$125.00
Sketch D Showing the progress of Section IV 1845 to 1851. - Main View
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1851 U. S. Coast Survey Map of the Carolina and Virginia Coast (Pamlico Sound, Albemarle Sound)

SketchDAlbemarleSound-uscs-1851


Title


Sketch D Showing the progress of Section IV 1845 to 1851.
  1851 (dated)     21 x 18.5 in (53.34 x 46.99 cm)     1 : 600000

Description


This is an exceptional example of the 1851 U.S. Coast Survey's progress chart for the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina. Covers from Cape Henry, Virginia, south past the Pamlico Sound and Cape Hatteras, to Cape Fear. It was here, looking over the Pamlico Sound, that Giovanni de Verrazano proudly and foolishly declared that he had discovered a route to the Pacific. The map shows triangulation points throughout the regions as well as all major islands, rivers, and inlets. Albemarle Sound and Pamlico Sound are shown in full. Several coastal cities are noted. Lighthouses, rivers, beaches and other sites identified. Prepared under the supervision of A. D. Bache, one of the most influential and prolific Superintendents of the Coast Survey, and issued in the 1851 edition of the Superintendent's Report.

Cartographer


The Office of the Coast Survey (1807 - present) founded in 1807 by President Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of Commerce 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, in response to a need for accurate navigational charts of the new nation's coasts and harbors. The spirit of the Coast Survey was defined by its first two superintendents. The first superintendent of the Coast Survey was Swiss immigrant and West Point mathematics professor Ferdinand Hassler. Under the direction of Hassler, from 1816 to 1843, the ideological and scientific foundations for the Coast Survey were established. These included using the most advanced techniques and most sophisticated equipment as well as an unstinting attention to detail. Hassler devised a labor intensive triangulation system whereby the entire coast was divided into a series of enormous triangles. These were in turn subdivided into smaller triangulation units that were then individually surveyed. Employing this exacting technique on such a massive scale had never before been attempted. Consequently, Hassler and the Coast Survey under him developed a reputation for uncompromising dedication to the principles of accuracy and excellence. Unfortunately, despite being a masterful surveyor, Hassler was abrasive and politically unpopular, twice losing congressional funding for the Coast Survey. Nonetheless, Hassler led the Coast Survey until his death in 1843, at which time Alexander Dallas Bache, a great-grandson of Benjamin Franklin, took the helm. Bache was fully dedicated to the principles established by Hassler, but proved more politically astute and successfully lobbied Congress to liberally fund the endeavor. Under the leadership of A. D. Bache, the Coast Survey completed its most important work. Moreover, during his long tenure with the Coast Survey, from 1843 to 1865, Bache was a steadfast advocate of American science and navigation and in fact founded the American Academy of Sciences. Bache was succeeded by Benjamin Pierce who ran the Survey from 1867 to 1874. Pierce was in turn succeeded by Carlile Pollock Patterson who was 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 (C & GS) to accommodate topographic as well as nautical surveys. Today the Coast Survey is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA as the National Geodetic Survey. More by this mapmaker...

Source


Bache, A. D., Report of the Superintendent of the United States Coast Survey, (Washington) 1851.    

Condition


Very good. Some wear and toning on original fold lines. Backed on archival tissue for stability. Minor spotting.