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Description

Rare view of Pensacola, Florida, published by Augustus Koch , with the copyright held by Thomas C. Watson & Co.

Koch's view of Pensacola shows the city as a thriving port metropolis on Pensacola Bay, "30 Miles Long and 4 to 5 Miles Wide Entirely Land-Locked and With Good Anchorage."

A key locates 70 points of interest.

Augustus Koch began his career as an itinerate birdseye view artist in California in 1870. Over the next nearly 30 years, he would criss-cross the country, creating more than 100 views of towns, large and small. His large format, highly detailed views are among the most coveted among collectors, employing a unique style which provides both physical detail of the town and a map-like quality.

Koch's view of Pensacola is very rare. OCLC locates only a single example, which is a 1976 facsimile. We also note an example illustrated in a thesis entitled BETWEEN THE BAYOUS: THE MARITIME CULTURAL LANDSCAPE OF THE DOWNTOWN PENSACOLA WATERFRONT, Kendra Ann Kennedy, 2010 (University of West Florida), listing the location of the view as the University of West Florida.

Thomas Watson & Co. of Pensacola also produced a Map of Pensacola in 1903, which survives in 2 known examples.

Condition Description
Extensively repaired, with areas of facsimile. The whole laid on linen, in order to support paper weakness and repairs. The reddish discoloration is apparently some sort of varnish-like substance which was painted onto the surface of the map at an early date.
Augustus Koch Biography

Augustus Koch (1840-?) was one of the most prolific American engravers of Birds Eye Views working outside of the major publishing centers.  Koch initially served in the Union Army during the Civil War as a clerk and draughtsman in the Engineers Office in St. Louis. Although his English was poor, he was later commissioned as an officer and assigned to one of the Black regiments serving in Mississippi where he drew maps for the advancing Union forces.  By 1865 he is thought to have contracted malaria and at 25, was discharged from the army.

By 1868, Koch had become an itinerant Bird's Eye View engraver. His earliest dated views are of Cedar Falls, Vinton, and Waterloo, Iowa. At that point his career seemed to take off and in rapid succession, maps by Koch were produced in every section of the country. In 1870 he produced 5 maps in Utah, Wyoming and California.  In all, Koch produced over 100 views, including over 20 Texas Views, during a career of 30 years.  His last recorded view was produced in Montana in 1898. 

Reps notes that while Koch engraved fewer views than some of his contemporaries, "no American viewmaker traveled more widely in search of subjects. . . "