Whiting, Henry L.
Henry L. Whiting (1821-1897) worked for the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey for nearly 60 years, having joined in July of 1838. He began joining survey parties in 1842 and began a long and steady climb through the survey's hierarchy. By the 1850s he was acting as instructor in field surveys at the Naval Academy at Annapolis, and became Professor of Topographical Engineering in Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He proposed and executed he first systematic inspection of the survey's field work. He established many of the conventions in lettering and nomenclature which would be adopted by the survey going forward. His surveys included Florida; the Mississippi River; Provincetown Harbor and Boston Harbor; The Pacific coast from San Diego to Puget Sound; Portland, Maine; Providence Harbor in Rhode Island; and New York Harbor. With the outbreak of the Civil War, he was the first of the Survey then abroad to volunteer for service in Washington, and went on to make cooperative surveys with the Army throughout the war, in many cases surveying battlegrounds just after the close of action. Though born inland in Albany, New York, he was a lifelong resident of Martha’s Vineyard, and would regularly resurvey his home. He would in 1856 co-found the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society.
Detailed Early Coastal Chart of Edgartown Harbor
Section I, Edgartown Harbor and Cotamy Bay, Mass.
$750.00
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A very rare 1871 U.S. Coast Survey Map of Edgartown and Katama Bay on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. This detailed working harbor chart was produced to illustrate the buildup of sand in the bay (making it unnavigable) in order to argue for the opening of a safe passage through Katama Beach. The chart shows the approaches to Edgartown - both the main approach from the northeast, marked by a lighthouse, and also the approaches via Katama Bay (Cotamy on the map)- whose mouth is shown entirely blocked by Katama Beach. Historical natural openings in the beach are noted, including a 1776 opening which had appeared on Des Barres' chart of the island, are noted. Nine cross sections of the beach are shown, indicating the height of the beach above sea level. A further cross section, showing the increasing silt blockage of the northern mouth of the Bay between the west shore and Chappaquiddick Point is shown as well. Tidal patterns measured inside and outside Katana bay are compared in a chart. Detailed soundings are provided throughout. (more details)
The culmination of the Coast Survey's work in New York Harbor.
Bay and Harbor of New York.
$1,200.00
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- File Size: 256.04 MB
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This 1874 double-sized nautical map of New York City represents the ultimate expression of the Coast Survey's work in and around New York harbor. Its refined detail provides not only state-of-the-art navigational information, but also a valuable record of land usage and development. (more details)