1857 U.S.C.S. Map of Provincetown Harbor, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Description: A rare hand colored 1857 costal chart of Provincetown Harbor, at the tip of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. This map offers a wealth of information with regard to both the regionís hydrography and its topography. It locates the Salt Marsh and the Highlands; marshes, low scrub areas; paths and dirt roads on the land leading to Provincetown itself. Numerous depth soundings are offered throughout. Sailing notes, lighthouse references, and other practical information appear in the upper left and lower right quadrants. The topography was accomplished by H. L. Whiting and the hydrography by H. S. Stellwagen. Published under the supervision of A. D. Bache for the 1857 Report of the Superintendent of the U.S. Coast Survey.
Date: 1857 (undated)
Source: Bache, A. D., Report of the Superintendant of the U.S. Coast Survey, (Washington) 1857.
Cartographer: 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.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's devised a labor intensive triangulation system whereby the entire coast was divided into a series of enormous triangles. These were intern 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 loosing congressional funding for the Coast Survey. Nonethelss, Hassler lead 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 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 or USGS) to accommodate topographic as well as nautical surveys. Today the Coast Survey is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA. Click here for a list of rare maps from the U. S. Coast Survey.
Size: Printed area measures 17.5 x 14 inches (44.45 x 35.56 centimeters)
Scale: 1 : 50000
Condition: Good condition. Blank on verso. Good margins. Minor discoloration on original fold lines.
Code: ProvincetownHarbor2-uscs-1857 (to order by phone call: 646-320-8650)
Tags: U.S. Government Map