Long Island Sound From a Trigonometrical Survey
[Washington, D. C.]: United States Coast Survey, 1855. Scale 1:80,000. Second edition.
Engraved map, dissected and laid down on linen in three sections (12 compartments per section).
Western: (sheet: 27 ¼” x 37 1/16”, 692mm x 941mm; neatline: 24 ⅞” x 34 15/16”, 632mm x 887mm).
Central: (sheet: 27 ¼” x 37 ⅜”, 692mm x 949mm; neatline: 24 ¾” x 34 ¾”, 629mm x 883mm).
Eastern: (sheet: 27 ⅜” x 37 ⅛”, 695mm x 943mm; neatline: 23 13/16” x 34 ¾”, 605mm x 883mm).
(Joined: (sheet: 27 ⅜” x 111 9/16”, 695mm x 2833mm; neatline: 24 ⅞” x 104 9/16”, 632mm x 2653mm).)
Each part bordered in red ribbon. With paper labels completed in ink manuscript for the eastern and western parts. Tears at the folds of the linen, with losses at the intersections. Peripheral tanning along the folds. Bordering ribbon worn and frayed. More tears, offsetting, and further tanning on the western section.
This nautical map of the Long Island Sound, published 1855, was surveyed by the engineers of the U.S. Coastal Survey (now part of NOAA). In addition to sailing directions and depth soundings, the map also provides a look back at the development of the shorelines of Long Island and Connecticut in the 1850’s. The very beginnings of development are visible: the Long Island Rail Road’s Main Line – opened in 1844 – and the New York & New Haven Railroad – opened in 1849 – fed small towns on the south and north sides of the Sound. What is now the Gold Coast of Long Island is marked as rural farmland, but parts of Connecticut resemble their present-day configurations. This shows the deeper meaning of this map: it is a snapshot in time of this area before the XXc boom, and before the “Northeast Megalopolis” – the constant string of development from southern New Hampshire to northern Virginia – had merged into being.
This map also provides insights into how areas such as the North Fork, the Gold Coast, and Southern Connecticut existed prior to their explosion as suburbs and vacation hotspots. There is an inset on western section showing New York City. There are numerous views on the map: on the eastern section, the views are of Plum Island and the Race entrance to the Sound (Southold, NY), as well as Montauk Point and Block Island (Montauk, NY and New Shoreham, RI). On the central section, there are two of Saybrook Light at the entrance to the Connecticut River (Old Saybrook, CT) and one of New Haven Light on the east side of New Haven Harbor (East Haven, CT). On the western section, there are two views of Stratford Point Light at the entrance to the Housatonic River (Stratford, CT), one of Sand’s Point Light on the north end of Cow Neck (Manhasset, NY), one of Eaton’s Neck Light at the entrance to Huntington and Northport Bays (Asharoken, NY), one of Old Field Point Light near the entrance to Port Jefferson Harbor (Old Field, NY), and one of Captain Island Light House on Great Captain Island (Greenwich, CT).
Catalogued by Jonah Kramer.
Item #JBK0001
Price: $5,500