1861 US Survey Large Antique Civil War Map of New York City & Surrounding Areas

  

Coast Chart No 21 New York Bay and Harbor New York From a Trigonometrical Survey under the direction of A D Bache Superintendant of the Survey of the Coast of the United States.... Coast Survey (Office of Coast Survey). 33in x 28 1/2in (840mm x 720mm). This large scarce, original lithograph very important antique map of New York City and surrounding area, by Alexander Dallas Bache (great-grandson of Benjamin Franklin) in 1861 - dated - was published by the official chart-maker of the United States, the office of The US Coast Survey. An incredibly important map in light of the civil war that was raging at the time of publishing.

The Office of the Coast Survey, founded in 1807 by President Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of Commerce Albert Gallatin, is the oldest scientific organization in the U. 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. Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable Paper color : - off white Age of map color: - Colors used: - General color appearance: - Paper size: - 33in x 28 1/2in (840mm x 720mm) Plate size: - 33in x 28 1/2in (840mm x 720mm) Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm). Margins: - None Plate area: - Folds as issued Verso: - Some folds re-enforced with archival tape.

Background: A rare 1861 U. S Coast Survey chart of New York City, it\'s harbor, and environs. One of the first 19th century carts to depicts New York City as we know it today, including Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island. Also includes Jersey City, Newark and Hoboken. This is a mid-point chart in the development of this particular series. In-land details are not as comprehensive as in later charts, most particularly the 1866 series, however remains quite thorough especially with regard to developing towns and communities. In addition to inland details, this chart contains a wealth of practical information for the mariner from oceanic depths, to harbors and navigation tips on important channels. Map also includes tables of light houses and beacons, tides and magnetic declination as well as detailed sailing instructions. The triangulation for this chart was prepared by J. The hydrography was accomplished by R. The entire production was supervised by A. Bache, Superintendent of the Survey of the Coast of the United States and one of the most influential American cartographers of the 19th century. Coast Survey (Office of Coast Survey) The Office of Coast Survey is the official chart-maker of the United States.

Set up in 1807, it is one of the U. In 1878 it was given the name of Coast and Geodetic Survey (C&GS). In 1970 it became part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The agency was established in 1807 when President Thomas Jefferson signed the document entitled An act to provide for surveying the coasts of the United States. While the bills objective was specific-to produce nautical charts-it reflected larger issues of concern to the new nation: national boundaries, commerce, and defence.

The early years were difficult. Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler, who was eventually to become the agencys first superintendent, went to England to collect scientific instruments but was unable to return through the duration of the War of 1812. After his return, he worked on a survey of the New York Harbor in 1817, but Congress stepped in to suspend the work because of tensions between civilian and military control of the agency. After several years under the control of the U.

Army, the Survey of the Coast was reestablished in 1832, and President Andrew Jackson appointed Hassler as superintendent. In general, army officers worked on topographic surveys on the land and maps based on the surveys, while navy officers worked on hydrographic surveys in coastal waters. Alexander Dallas Bache, great-grandson of Benjamin Franklin, was the second Coast Survey superintendent. Bache was a physicist, scientist, and surveyor who established the first magnetic observatory and served as the first president of the National Academy of Sciences. Under Bache, Coast Survey quickly applied its resources to the Union cause during the Civil War. In addition to setting up additional lithographic presses to produce the thousands of charts required by the Navy and other vessels, Bache made a critical decision to send Coast Survey parties to work with blockading squadrons and armies in the field, producing hundreds of maps and charts. Bache detailed these activities in his annual reports to Congress. Coast Survey cartographer Edwin Hergesheimer created the map showing the density of the slave population in the Southern states. Bache was also one of four members of the governments Blockade Strategy Board, planning strategy to essentially strangle the South, economically and militarily. On April 16, 1861, President Lincoln issued a proclamation declaring the blockade of ports from South Carolina to Texas.

Baches Notes on the Coast provided valuable information for Union naval forces. Maps were of paramount importance in wartime: It is certain that accurate maps must form the basis of well-conducted military operations, and that the best time to procure them is not when an attack is impending, or when the army waits, but when there is no hindrance to, or pressure upon, the surveyors. That no coast can be effectively attacked, defended, or blockaded without accurate maps and charts, has been fully proved by the events of the last two years, if, indeed, such a proposition required practical proof. Alexander Dallas Bache, 1862 report.

Coast Survey attracted some of the best and brightest scientists and naturalists. It commissioned the naturalist Louis Agassiz to conduct the first scientific study of the Florida reef system. James McNeill Whistler, who went on to paint the iconic Whistlers Mother, was a Coast Survey engraver.

The naturalist John Muir was a guide and artist on Survey of the 39th Parallel across the Great Basin of Nevada and Utah. The agencys men and women (women professionals were hired as early as 1845) led scientific and engineering activities through the decades. In 1926, they started production of aeronautical charts.

During the height of the Great Depression, Coast and Geodetic Survey organized surveying parties and field offices that employed over 10,000 people, including many out-of-work engineers. In World War II, C&GS sent over 1,000 civilian members and more than half of its commissioned officers to serve as hydrographers, artillery surveyors, cartographers, army engineers, intelligence officers, and geophysicists in all theaters of the war.

Civilians on the home front produced over 100 million maps and charts for the Allied Forces. Eleven members of the C&GS gave their lives during the war. Alexander Dallas Bache 1806 - 1867 was an American physicist, scientist, and surveyor who erected coastal fortifications and conducted a detailed survey to map the mid-eastern United States coastline. Originally an army engineer, he later became Superintendent of the U. Coast Survey, and built it into the foremost scientific institution in the country before the Civil War.

Alexander Bache was born in Philadelphia, the son of Richard Bache, Jr. And Sophia Burrell Dallas Bache.

He came from a prominent family as he was the nephew of Vice-President George M. Dallas and naval hero Alexander J. He was the grandson of Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Dallas and was the great-grandson of Benjamin Franklin.

Bache was a professor of natural philosophy and chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania from 1828 to 1841 and again from 1842 to 1843. Abroad, he examined European education systems, and on his return he published a valuable report. From 1839 to 1842, he served as the first president of Central High School of Philadelphia, one of the oldest public high schools in the United States. In 1843, on the death of Professor Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler, Bache was appointed superintendent of the United States Coast Survey. He convinced the United States Congress of the value of this work and, by means of the liberal aid it granted, he completed the mapping of the whole coast by a skillful division of labor and the erection of numerous observing stations.

In addition, magnetic and meteorological data were collected. Bache served as head of the Coast Survey for 24 years (until his death). Please note all items auctioned are genuine, we do not sell reproductions.

A Certificate of Authenticity (COA) can be issued on request. What is an Antique Map. The word Antique in the traditional sense refers to an item that is more than a hundred years old. The majority of antique maps for sale today come from books or atlases and have survived due to the protection offered by the hardback covers. The first thing to determine when staring a collection or purchasing an item, is what is important to you.

Most collectors prefer to build their collections around a theme. You may decide to collect maps from one region or country, charting its development through time. Similarly you could collect maps of one particular period in time, by type i. Sea or celestial charts or by cartographer.

The collector might also want to consider the theme of cartographical misconceptions such as California as an island or Australia as Terra Australis or the Great Southern Land. The subject is so wide that any would-be-collector has almost endless possibilities to find his own little niche within the field, and thereby build a rewarding collection. Starting a collection & pricing. Pricing is based on a number of different factors, the most important of which is regional.

In any series of maps the most valuable are usually the World Map and the America/North America. The World because it is usually the most decorative and America because it has the strongest regional market.

Other factors that come into play re: price is rarity, age, size, historical importance, decorative value (colour) and overall condition and quality of paper it is printed on. As specialised dealers, we frequently work with first time map buyers who are just starting their collection.

Classical Images was founded 1998 and has built an excellent reputation for supplying high quality original antiquarian maps, historical atlases, antique books and prints. We carry an extensive inventory of antiquarian collectibles from the 15th to 19th century.

Our collection typically includes rare books and decorative antique maps and prints by renowned cartographers, authors and engravers. Specific items not listed may be sourced on request. Classical Images adheres to the Codes of Ethics outlined by the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (ABAA). We are a primarily an online based enterprise, however our inventory may be viewed by appointment.

This item is in the category "Antiques\Maps, Atlases & Globes\North America Maps". The seller is "searching01" and is located in this country: AU. This item can be shipped worldwide.