LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2008 Feb Grand Format Book & Manuscript #682  / 

56501

David H. Burr Atlas of the State of New York

Currency:USD Category:Books / Antiquarian & Collectible Start Price:14,500.00 USD Estimated At:17,500.00 - 20,000.00 USD
David H. Burr Atlas of the State of New York
<B>David H. Burr. </B></I><B><I>An Atlas of the State of New York,</B></I></B></I> Containing a Map of the State and of the Several Counties. Projected and Drawn by a Uniform Scale from documents deposited in the Public Offices of the State, and other original & authentic information-under the superintendance & direction of Simeon De Witt, Surveyor General, pursuant to an Act of the Legislature, And also the Physical Geography of the State & of the several Counties & Statistical Tables of the Same. By David H. Burr. New York: Published by David H. Burr, 1829.<BR><BR>First edition, with all of the maps dated 1829. Large folio (21.75 x 16.5 inches). 29, [1, blank], [100] pages. Text in double columns. Pages 17/18 ("Internal Navigation") incorrectly bound between pages 10 and 11. Engraved title with vignette "View of the Hudson near Fishkill." Fifty-two hand-colored engraved maps (double-page "Map of the State of New York," "Map of the City and County of New York" on two sheets joined together, and single- and double-page maps of the counties). "Map of the City and County of New York" and each county map with a leaf of descriptive text. Map 24 ("Map of the County of Franklin") and corresponding text leaf bound before Map 23 ("Map of the County of Clinton"). "Engravd. by Rawdon, Clark & Co. Albany & Rawdon, Wright & Co., New York." All leaves mounted on guards (some guards renewed).<BR><BR>Modern half brown morocco over marbled boards by the Vogel (stamp-signed in gilt on the rear turn-in). Smooth spine decoratively ruled in gilt with date in gilt at foot of spine. Black calf labels lettered in gilt on front cover and spine. Some light foxing and offsetting, a few scattered ink stains. Half-title with four short marginal tears repaired on the verso with tape. Title reinforced with tape along the gutter plate mark on the recto and with five short marginal tears repaired on the verso with tape. Map 1 ("Map of the State of New York") reinforced at fold with cloth tape and with two marginal tape repairs. Maps 2 & 3 ("Map of the City and County of New York") reinforced along fold with cloth tape, with short tear at one fold, two additional tears repaired with tape, and with tape repair to verso of corresponding text leaf. Small piece torn from outer blank margin of Map 7 ("Map of the Counties of Dutchess and Putnam"). Repaired tear and crease to text leaf for Map 21 ("Warren County"). Final plate and text leaf with some edge chipping and tears. A few plates have names or locations added in ink in an early hand ("Map of the County of Hamilton" with three of the names erased). An excellent copy of this "magnificent publication."<BR><BR>"<I>The Atlas of the State of New York</B></I> was published in 1830 [although it bears the date 1829]. It was the second state atlas produced in the United States; the very first was the 1825 <I>Atlas of the State of South Carolina </B></I>produced by Robert Mills. Although [Surveyor General Simeon] DeWitt provided information and sponsorship and put his powerful influence behind the project, the producer of the atlas was David Burr (1803-1875). Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Burr was admitted to the New York State bar in 1824, but he never practiced law. In 1825, he was appointed to head a survey team in the state. The opening of the Erie Canal promised economic growth for central and western New York. Voters in the southern tier, fearful of being left out, lobbied for a road between the Hudson and Lake Erie. Governor DeWitt Clinton recommended that a survey be undertaken to identify a route. Three parties were sent out into the field. Burr was in charge of one of them...The Burr Atlas is a landmark document that constitutes one of the most precise cartographic records of the state. It contains a general map of the state, a large plan of New York City, and maps of each county. There is also a substantial written and statistical text...After the introduction, there are sections on statistics and government, internal navigation and a topographical sketch. The first map is a large-scale map of New York State with profiles of the Erie, Champlain and Seneca canals in the lower left, followed by a beautiful two-sheet map of New York City. The atlas also contains a statistical table of the whole state that gives for each county the acreage, population, numbers of schools, livestock, mills, domestic manufactured goods, distance from Washington and Albany, and latitude and longitude from Washington...There is a map of each county with an accompanying statistical table...The atlas has a uniformity of style and expression. It looks like a modern atlas; it is a modern atlas and the forerunner of the many state atlases to come...The Burr Atlas marks a major change. The whole state, the major city, each and every county is depicted in a uniform style and scale, with accompanying standardized statistical information and narrative. The state is given shape and form and substance in the atlas. All the counties are now joined together, a civil union is complete, all the land is subdivided, the marks of progress are recorded and celebrated...David Burr went on to make maps of other states, including Delaware and Maryland, Indiana, Wisconsin, Vermont, Ohio, Georgia and Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey and Virginia, as well as a map of the United States in 1833. He produced an atlas of the world in 1836, published by Hall in New York. He was appointed Topographer to the US Post Office and in 1838 became Geographer to the House of Representatives of the United States. After a brief spell as surveyor to the state of Florida, he returned to Washington as Geographer to the US Senate. He was named the first Surveyor General of the Utah territory" (John Rennie Short, <I>Representing the Republic: Mapping the United States 1600-1900, </B></I>pp. 85-88).<BR><BR>A revised and updated edition of the Atlas was published in 1839.<BR><BR>Howes B1017. Phillips, <I>Atlases,</B></I> 2206. Walter Ristow, <I>American Maps & Mapmakers: Commercial Cartography in the 19th Century,</B></I> pp. 103-108. Sabin 19873.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Books & Catalogs (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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