Sign In

- Or use -
Forgot Password Create Account
This item has been sold, but you can enter your email address to be notified if another example becomes available.
Description

Rare separately published example of the 1857 large survey map of San Diego Bay, published by the US Coast Survey.

The present example was de-accessioned from the George Davidson Collection of the Bancroft Library and was until recently in the collection of noted California collector, Warren Heckrotte. Davidson was perhaps the most important mapmaker in California in the first half of the 19th Century and amassed one of the most important private map collections, which was later donated to the Bancroft Library.

The map extends from False (Mission) Bay and the Pacific Beach area, south to Imperial Beach and the Mexican border. Hundreds of soundings. Shows several of the Ranchos, New San Diego, Old Town, Ballast Pt., La Playa, Valley of Tecolote, a Light House, Valley of Carbonera, and the old and new river beds of the San Diego River, among other things.

This is one of three maps of San Diego Bay by the US Coast Survey, the other two (1851 and 1853) are much smaller format.

The primary difference between this example of the map and the more common examples which appeared in the Official Report of the Coast Survey is that the topographical and hydrographical details and shading is far more advanced and refined than in the normal examples.

George Davidson

From 1846 to 1850, George Davidson was occupied in geodetic field work, and in astronomy, serving in the different states on the east coast of the United States. In 1850, he went to California under the auspices of the Coast Survey, and was for several years engaged in the determination of the latitude and longitude of prominent capes, bays, etc., and of the magnetic elements of the Pacific Coast, reporting also upon the proper locations for lighthouses. His work included a survey of Washington and Puget sounds, and he had charge of the main triangulation of the coast in the region of San Francisco. In 1853, he named a number of mountains in the Olympic Mountains: he named Mount Ellinor for Ellinor Fauntleroy, who later became his wife, Mount Constance for Ellinor's older sister and The Brothers for her two brothers.

In 1866, he became chief engineer of an expedition for the survey of a ship canal across the Isthmus of Darien. In 1867, he was appointed to make a special examination and report upon the geography and resources of Alaska, pending its purchase; his published report and conferences with congressional committees influenced the passage of the bill. He was placed in charge, during 1867, of the work of the Coast Survey on the Pacific, planned work for the land parties from 1868 until 1875, and inspected all the fields of work. He traveled extensively in Egypt, China, India and Europe, for purposes of scientific study.

From 1876 to 1886, he had charge of the main triangulation and astronomical work on the west coast; the records of the computing division showed that the results of his observations stood higher than any ever executed in America, Europe, or India, and they were characterized as "unique in the history of geodesy." In 1881, Davidson twice measured the Yolo base line, one of the geodesic base lines that formed the foundation of triangulating distances in California. At that time, it was the longest base line yet attempted in trigonometrical operations, and the system of triangulation directly connected therewith was called in his honor, the "Davidson quadrilaterals." He also measured the Los Angeles base line three times in 1888-1889. He retired from the Coast Survey in 1895, after 50 years of service.[4]

He founded the Davidson Observatory in San Francisco, which was the first astronomical observatory on the Pacific coast of North America, and in 1869 brought the Pacific geodetic of the coast survey in telegraphic longitude connection with Greenwich. His astronomical work includes the observation of the total solar eclipse under the 60th parallel, in 1869; determination of the 120th meridian, in 1873; charge of the U. S. transit of Venus expedition, in 1874; recovery of the transit of Venus station of 1709 in Lower California occupied by Auteroche de la Chappe; observation of the total solar eclipse of January 7, 1880; and in 1882 charge of the party to observe the transit of Venus in New Mexico.

Other positions held by Davidson include president of the California Academy of Sciences from 1871 to 1887, Honorary Professor of Geodesy and Astronomy, and Regent of the University of California from 1877 to 1885. After his retirement from the Coast Survey, he became the first professor of geography at the University of California, Berkeley, and chaired that department from 1898 until his retirement in 1905, and remained an emeritus professor until his death.

Davidson was one of 182 charter members of the Sierra Club in 1892 and served as a member of its board of directors from 1894 to 1910.

Condition Description
Backed with a thin layer of paper. Repaired tear. Ex Davidson Paper-Bancroft Library stamp near title.
United States Coast Survey Biography

The United States Office of the Coast Survey began in 1807, when Thomas Jefferson founded the Survey of the Coast. However, the fledgling office was plagued by the War of 1812 and disagreements over whether it should be civilian or military controlled. The entity was re-founded in 1832 with Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler as its superintendent. Although a civilian agency, many military officers served the office; army officers tended to perform the topographic surveys, while naval officers conducted the hydrographic work.

The Survey’s history was greatly affected by larger events in American history. During the Civil War, while the agency was led by Alexander Dallas Bache (Benjamin Franklin’s grandson), the Survey provided the Union army with charts. Survey personnel accompanied blockading squadrons in the field, making new charts in the process.

After the Civil War, as the country was settled, the Coast Survey sent parties to make new maps, employing scientists and naturalists like John Muir and Louis Agassiz in the process. By 1926, the Survey expanded their purview further to include aeronautical charts. During the Great Depression, the Coast Survey employed over 10,000 people and in the Second World War the office oversaw the production of 100 million maps for the Allies. Since 1970, the Coastal and Geodetic Survey has formed part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and it is still producing navigational products and services today.