A chart of the Harbour of Boston, with the soundings, sailing-marks, and other directions

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A chart of the Harbour of Boston, with the soundings, sailing-marks, and other directions
This map is also available in American Revolutionary Geographies Online (ARGO), a collections portal especially built for material relating to the American Revolutionary War Era. Visit ARGO to learn more about this item and explore the historical geography of North America in the late eighteenth century.

Item Information

Title:
A chart of the Harbour of Boston, with the soundings, sailing-marks, and other directions
Description:
Beneath Our Feet: The oldest surviving charts depicting the Mediterranean Sea date to the 13th century; however, these earliest maps created by mariners for navigational purposes did not reflect features beneath the surface of the water. It was not until the production of the first Dutch sea atlas in the late 16th century that nautical charts began recording bathymetric (underwater depth) information. By the late 18th century, mariners had developed established methods for recording underwater depths, landforms and hazards, as seen on this chart of Boston Harbor. Soundings – water depths at specific locations – are represented by numbers indicating fathoms here, while shoals and sandbanks are illustrated with stippling.
Date:
[1776]
Format:
Maps/Atlases
Location:
Boston Public Library
Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center
Collection (local):
Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center Collection
Subjects:
Nautical charts--Massachusetts--Boston Harbor--Early works to 1800
Boston Harbor (Mass.)--Maps--Early works to 1800
Places:
Massachusetts > Boston Harbor
Extent:
1 chart : col. ; 53 x 88 cm.
Terms of Use:
No known copyright restrictions.
No known restrictions on use.
Publisher:
London : R. Sayer and J. Bennett
Scale:
Scale [ca. 1:28,000]
Language:
English
Notes:
Depth shown by soundings. Relief shown by hachures.
Shows fortifications and settlements.
Appears in the North American Pilot for New England, New York ... London: R. Sayer & J. Bennett, 1776.
Notes (date):
This date is inferred.
Notes (exhibitions):
Exhibited: "Beneath Our Feet: Mapping the World Below" organized by the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library, 2017-2018.
Identifier:
06_01_007247
Call #:
G3762.B65P5 1776 .C43x
Barcode:
39999059030328