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1859 U.S. Coast Survey Map of the St. Mary's River and Cape Lookout, Maryland

StMarysRiverMaryland-uscs-1859
$125.00
St. Mary's River Cornfield Harbor and Pt. Lookout Maryland - Main View
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1859 U.S. Coast Survey Map of the St. Mary's River and Cape Lookout, Maryland

StMarysRiverMaryland-uscs-1859


Title


St. Mary's River Cornfield Harbor and Pt. Lookout Maryland
  1859 (dated)     18.5 x 16 in (46.99 x 40.64 cm)

Description


An uncommon example of the 1859 U.S. Coast Survey nautical chart or maritime map of Maryland's St. Mary's River and Point Lookout. The map covers from Piney Point and Saint Georges Island, past St. Mary's River, eastwards as far as Point Lookout. Several roads and various small towns and farms are noted throughout. As a nautical map it further features countless depth soundings (in feet) and a wealth of practical information for the mariner. The triangulation for this map was completed by John Farley. The topography is the word of R. D. Cutts, John Seib, and I. Hull Adams. The hydrography was accomplished by a team under the command of S. P. Lee and W. T. Muse. The whole was compiled under the direction of A. D. Bache, one of the U.S. Coast Survey's most influential and prolific superintendents, for issue in the 1859 annual report to Congress.

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) 1859.    

Condition


Very good. Some light spotting and toning on original fold lines. Else clean. Backed with archival tissue.