About this Item
Very good condition. Professionally devarnished with fresh linen backing. Size 69.5 x 58 Inches. Magnificently detailed, visually stunning, and monumentally proportioned, this is William Kitchell's seminal 1861 wall map of New Jersey. This is the largest most detailed map of New Jersey printed in the 19th century. A Closer Look This map covers the entire state of New Jersey as well as the Delaware Bay, and adjacent parts of New York, Pennsylvania (particularly Philadelphia), and Delaware. Breathtaking detail throughout. The cartographers attempted to identify every road, hill, farm, hotel, post office, river, creek, swamp, store, distillery â ¦ and nearly every non-urban building in the state. The rivers, bays, and coast lines, especially around New York Harbor and the Delaware Bay, feature countless depth soundings and other nautical references no doubt derived from the work of the U.S. Coast Survey. The whole is surrounded by a grapevine style border further embellished with floral motif decorative medallions. The Insets In those large cities where marking individuals building proved impossible, detailed insets are presented. The map features seventeen, from upper right: Paterson, Belvidere, Rahway, Morristown, Jersey City and Hoboken, Orange, Elizabeth, New Brunswick, Camden, Bordentown, Trenton, Newark, Salem, Burlington, Beverly, Newton, and Mount Holly. Additionally, there are several vignette views illustrating New Brunswick, Newark, the Delaware Water Gap, Paterson, Trenton, and Camden. Sources and History Cartographically this map is derived from the earlier work of the State Geological Survey (from work commenced in 1836 under Henry Darwin Rogers), the U.S. Coast Survey (particularly for the Delaware Bay, New York Harbor, the New Jersey coastline, and in various river ways), and further survey work completed by the civil engineer G. Morgan Hopkins under the direction of William Kitchell, superintendent of the Geological Survey of New Jersey. Work on this map began by order of legislature in 1854 when William Kitchell was installed as State Geologist. Kitchell began compiling the map with the assistance of his staff, which included George H. Cook (assistant Geologist), Henry Wurtz (Chemist and Mineralogist), and Egbert Viele (Topographical engineer). Two years later, in 1856, the New Jersey legislature, citing financial difficulties, suspended funding of the map abolishing the office of state geologist. Over the subsequent four years Kitchell lobbied furiously for reinstatement and, in 1860, was granted permission to access the 'apparatus and materials belonging to the state survey' to, at his own expense, complete his grand map. The result, privately published later that year, is this awesome production, a landmark in the mapping of New Jersey and enormous advancement over the 1828 Gordon map. Publication History and Census This map was first published in 1860 by H. G. Bond and William Kitchell. It is based on surveys compiled by Kitchell and G. M. Hopkins. The present example is the 1861 second edition. This map is scarce. The OCLC identifies two examples in the collections of Princeton University and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. We have further identified examples at the New York State Library, the Fairleigh Dickinson University Library, and the Chester Public Library. There are three further examples in private hands. An important map for any serious collection focused on New Jersey. References: Snyder, J. P., Mapping of New Jersey, p. 105. Dombroski, D. R., 'Brief History of the New Jersey Geological Survey', New Jersey Geological Survey Technical Memorandum, 1984. Barker, H., 'A Brief History of Some New Jersey Maps, 1654-1964', Mapping Digest for New Jersey, Bulletin 66, 1965 (New Jersey Geological Survey), p. 1-2. Cook, G., Annual Report of the State Geologist for the year 1885, (Trenton: New Jersey Geological Survey), p. 162.
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