A Set of 15 Engraved Charts from the United States Exploring Expedition. During the Years 1838,1839,1840,1841,1842.: Under the Command of Charles Wilkes, U.S.N. By Authority of Congress. Philadelphia Atlas of Charts. VOL. I. and VOL. II From the Surveys of the Expedition.

dimensions: 26 1/2" x 19 1/2" approx., sheet size
condition: professionally conserved, good condition

Description: Chart Inventory
Please see www.spackantiquemaps.com for the complete essay. Essay footnotes only below.

II. Lot of 15 Charts on Offer: Alphabetical by Island Group
Fiji Archipelago:

Whippy Harbour South Side of Viti Levu By The U.S.Ex.Ex. 1840.; Suva Harbour South Side of Viti Levu By The U.S.Ex.Ex. 1840.; , Granby Harbour South Side of Viti Levu By The U.S.Ex.Ex. 1840.; Ndronga Harbor South Side of Viti Levu By The U.S. Ex.Ex. 1840. [one sheet, four maps of different views of Viti Levu largest island of the Fiji nation]
26 ½ x 19 ½ inches
no engraver's name
paper toned, edge repair
maps show anchorage, topography, villages, areas "bare at low water" and boat passage

Island of Yendua Feejee Group By The U.S.Ex.Ex. 1840; Nucumurry Harbour West End of Vanua Levu By The U.S.Ex.Ex. 1840; Wallea Bay North Side of Vanua Levu By The U.S. Ex.Ex. 1840. [one sheet, three island maps]
Eng by Sherman & Smith, N.Y.
26 ½ x 19 ½ inches
lower edge damage repaired
pencil inscription on rev. "Navigation Islands Feejee..."
volcanic mountainous terrain shown with curved lines, observatory location noted, harbor bottom soils described, reefs outlined

Harbour of Muthuata North Side of Vanua Levu, By the U.S. Ex.Ex. 1840.

Tibethe & Vicuna Harbour's on the North Side of Vanua Levu by the U.S. Ex.Ex. 1840. [one sheet, two maps, two islands of Vanua Levu]
26 ½ x 19 ½ inches
detached paper chip reattached.towns shown, atolls drawn, extensive triangular patterned depth soundings

Hawaiian Group
Map of Hawaiian Group or Sandwich Islands By The U.S. Ex.Ex. 1841.
Engr by Sherman & Smith, N.Y.
Survey of all Sandwich Islands with perimeter and topographic features: Hawaii, Maui, Kahoolawe, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai, Niihau; three volcanoes on Hawaii-Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, Mauna Hualalai, other mountains, town names labeled, no missions or churches.
manuscript pencil charting and calculations, compass rose on face of map
surface abrasion and vertical wrinkles and puckering, repaired tear in body of map near Kauai Island, repaired tear in lower margin, a working map possibly printed on poor paper
dimensions: 19 ½ x 27 inches

Kingsmill Group(Gilbert Islands)

Taputeouea or Drummond's Island, Kingsmill Group, By The U.S. Ex.Ex.1841.
Peacock's Anchorage at Drummond's Island, Kingsmill Group By The U.S. Ex. Ex. 1841. [one sheet, two island maps] (seaman John Anderson disappeared and was presumed killed by villagers on Drummond's island when a small crew went ashore. The crew returned to the Peacock to report, and a Naval crew of 87 returned with force and burned the village.)
Engraved by G.W.Boynton, Boston
26 ½ x 19 1/2 inches
paper toned
town of Utiroa labeled, location where Flying Fish struck marked with "x"
Peacock's Anchorage "very foul rocky bottom" and a village noted

Hudsons Island By The U.S.Ex.Ex. 1841, Maraki or Matthews Island Kingsmill Group By The U.S.Ex.Ex. 1841; Maiana or Hall's Island Kingsmill Group By The U.S.Ex.Ex. 1841, Apamama or Hopper's Island Kingsmill Group By The U.S.Ex.Ex. 1841, Kuria and Nanuki Islands Kingsmill Group By The U.S.Ex.Ex. 1841. [one sheet, five maps, six islands]
Eng. by Sherman & Smith, N.Y.
26 ½ x 19 ½ inches
harbor profile Hudson's I., Maraki I., Apamama I., Maiana, harbor profile Kuria with boat landing noted and Nanouki or Henderville Is., Knoll on small island

Hudsons Island By The U.S. Ex.Ex. 1841.; Maraki or Mathews Island Kingsmill Group By The U.S. Ex.Ex. 1841.; Maiana or Halls Island Kingsmill Group By The U.S. Ex.Ex. 1841.; Apamama or Hopper's Island Kingsmill Group By The U.S. Ex.Ex. 1841; Kuria and Nanouki Islands Kingsmill Group by the U.S. Ex.Ex. 1841.[one sheet, five maps, six islands]
Eng. by Sherman & Smith, N.Y.
26 ½ x 19 ½ inches
harbor profile Hudson's I., Maraki I., Apamama I., Maiana, harbor profile Kuria with boat landing noted and Nanouki or Henderville Is., Knoll on small island
manuscript ink signature: "B. Gosnold" on reverse
small loss lower right corner and on bottom edge

Apiá or Charlotte Island Kingsmill Group By The U.S.Ex.Ex. 1841; Tarawa or Knox Island Kingsmill Group By the U.S. Ex.Ex. 1841 [one sheet, two islands each with its own map]
Eng. by Sherman & Smith, N.Y.
26 ½ x 19 inches
Island profile, Knox I. and printed note where the Peacock touched. Flying Fish anchorage
Apiá chart shows passage through the reef to Lagoon, site where Flying Fish struck on low ebb. Note "coral bottom from 2 to 10 fathoms."

Paumotu Group
Metia Island Paumotu Group By The U.S.Ex.Ex. 1841; Taweree or St. Simeon or Resolution Island, Paumotu Group By The U.S.Ex.Ex. 1841; Takurea or Wolconsky Island Paumotu Group, and Seagull Islands, Paumotu Group By The U.S. Ex.Ex. 1841. [one sheet, 4 island maps]
Engraved by Sherman & Smith, N.Y.
26 ½ x 19 ½ inches
Metia island profile, village shown, island profile at 6 miles, other islands not settled, ink notation on back repaired tear to right margin. Reinforced top edge.

Metia Island Paumotu Group By The U.S. Ex.Ex. 1841; Taweree or St. Simeon or Resolution Island Paumotu Group By The U.S. Ex.Ex. 1841; Takurea or Wolconsky Island Paumotu Group By The U.S. Ex.Ex. 1841, and Seagull Islands, Paumotu Group by the U.S. Ex.Ex. 1841. [ one sheet,4 island maps]Engraved by Sherman & Smith, N.Y.
26 ½ x 19 ½ inches
Metia island profile, village shown, island profile at 6 miles, other islands not settled
paper toned

Kawahe or Vincennes Island Paumotu Group By The U.S.Ex.Ex. 1839; Raraka Island Paumotu Group by the U.S. Ex. Ex.1839
Eng by Sherman & Smith, N.Y.
20 x 27 inches
bottom edge repair
entrance to Lagoon on Kawahe, island profile Raraka Island 5 miles distant. Village noted. Entrance to Lagoon on Raraka.
ink notation on reverse

Samoan Group
Island of Upolu, Samoan Group by the U.S. Ex. Ex. 1839.
Engraved by J. Knight, Philadelphia
27 x 19 ¼ inches
Mapping of mountains and volcanoes. Bird's eye-like view of palm groves, mountains, and terrain. Island profile with detailed labeling of features and town viewed at 10 miles. "Good Boat harbour" noted. Entire perimeter of island labeled with "boat openings"

Tuamotu Archipelago
King Georges Group, By the U.S. Ex. Ex. 1839
and Aratica or Carlshoff Island by the U.S. Ex.Ex. 1839
Engraved by Sherman & Smith, N.Y.
26 ½ x 19 ½ inches [one sheet, 2 maps, two islands]
harbor profile at 4 miles of Aratica Island, location labeled "fresh water", entrance "deep water" on Tiokea I.

Ahii and Manhii or Peacock and Wilsons Islands By The U.S. Ex. Ex. 1839
Engraved by Sherman & Smith, N.Y.
26 ½" x 19 ½" [one sheet, two maps]
harbor profile of each island 3 miles distant. entrance for small vessels labeled on Ahii, entrance for vessels labeled on Manhii.
paper curls on map surface flattened and reattached to underlayer, lighter than background after conservation

Notes: Accompanying Lengthy Essay at www.spackantiquemaps.com

1. The Act of Congress limited the edition size of each volume in the U.S.Ex.Ex. reports to 100. Fewer than 100 copies of some volumes were printed. For the official issue of Hydrography Atlas of Charts, Vol.I., Haskell states that for the 1850 issue of Vol.I, 100 copies were printed consisting of 55 unnumbered charts, of which 30 copies were destroyed by fire. Haskell notes that in this issue charts were also sold individually. An 1858 issue of Vol. I was printed in thirty copies to replace the burned copies. These charts were numbered and the Vol. I table of contents reset. For Vol.II, Haskell states that 100 copies were printed and all charts were numbered. A table of contents lists the chart titles in each issue of each volume.

2. The squadron consisted of the Vincennes, Peacock, Porpoise, storeship Relief, Sea Gull and Flying Fish. The Sea Gull was lost at sea in 1839 near the Cape of Good Hope and all crew members died. In 1839, the slow Relief was sent home.

3. The crews of the six vessels were recorded by Midshipman William Reynolds, cited in Stanton, p.279-280. His accounts included the initial crew of 346, diminished, renewed, with accounts for those discharged, those who deserted or died with a cumulative record of 524 men who had participated, and recorded that 181 original crew returned to New York. Depending on the source, authors thus quote the crew size variously.

4. Act of Congress dated May 14, 1836 appropriating $150,000 to send out a surveying and exploring expedition to the "Pacific ocean and South seas..." including "other means in the control of the Navy Department not exceeding $150,000.".... The full scope of the expedition included the South Pacific, the American Northwest, Oregon and the mouth of the Columbia River, San Francisco, areas in South America, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and other islands near China.

5. The August 26, 1842 Act provided authority and funding for publishing the reports of the expedition's discoveries under the Joint Committee on the Library. The Act specified that the U.S. Ex.Ex. reports would be illustrated and modeled on the French government's 1829 publication of the Astrolabe expedition to the Pacific.

Congress published a notice in the National Intelligencer March 23, 1844 requesting proposals and selected C.[onger] Sherman of Philadelphia, the low bidder as printer.

6. The U.S.Ex.Ex. Fiji charts were a source of pride and scientific accomplishment. Magnificent Voyagers, p. 178 notes that Wilkes exhibited them - possibly in manuscript.

7. Stanton states at p. 245 that at the conclusion of surveying Tawara and the other small Pacific islands the U.S.Ex.Ex. surveys had corrected the positions of ten islands on existing charts and had completed their work "with sufficient accuracy to answer all the purposes of Navigation."

8. See below, Ulukau. Hawaiian Electronic Library.

9. Tawara was the site of a WWII battle with thousands of casualties. The island was deemed strategic by the U.S. Command for establishing the first air base in the Gilbert chain to support American forces in the Pacific campaign against Japan. The next Gilbert island airfield was on Apamama, another U.S.Ex.Ex. chart on offer.

10. For a staggering description of the whole, see the Smithsonian Libraries digital Collection article From the Ends of the Earth The United States Exploring Expedition Collections. www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/usexex/learn/Walsh-01.htm.

11. Magnificent Voyagers, p. 167.

12. Wilkes' report of the 1839-1840 discovery of a new continent, Antarctica, was not universally accepted when announced notwithstanding that the discovery was documented with surveys, reports and a nautical chart.

13. The court martial arose over allegations that one survey of Upolu Island, in the Samoan Island group was erroneous. The island was surveyed twice, early and late in the expedition, by two different U.S.Ex.Ex. naval officers with an 8 mile discrepancy between their two surveys. The Island of Upolu chart is on offer.

14. Congressional funding acts expressly pertaining to printing charts, texts and plates ensued in 1843, 1844, 1845, 1847, 1848, 1850 twice, 1854, 1856, 1859, 1861, 1862, 1866, 1872 twice. The June 1844 act states: "For the publication, under the direction of the Secr. of the Navy and of the Secretary of the Treasury, of such maps of the ex.ex as, in their judgment will be serviceable to the navy and the commerce of the country. $2,000..." The March 3, 1845 act includes the language "For completing the publication of the work on the Ex.Ex., including the printing of an extra number of charts,...." The language of the Congressional Acts on several occasions also specifically provides funding to replace charts lost in fires either at the publisher, bindery or in government hands.

15. The separately sold charts on heavy paper to be used for navigation, bearing a printed price stamp are from the plates used for the Atlas of Charts, Vol. I. (1850) and Vol. II (1858) to accompany Vol. XXIII, Hydrography (1861) by Charles Wilkes distributed separately in 1873.

Haskell cites correspondence dated 1844 from Wilkes to the Library Committee and Tappan, that the Atlas of Charts was ready for inspection. However, the Atlas of Charts was not printed until 1850. The separately sold charts sale dates are treated variously in the literature reviewed. Haskell seems to date first sale to 1850. Viola cites a 1845 report by Wilkes that the copper plates for large charts were 1/3 finished and elsewhere states certain charts were published as early as that year.

16. Wilkes' five volume Narrative, 1844, official edition, was accompanied by an atlas that contained five folded charts, measuring 13.4 x 9.65 inches (34 x 24.5 cm): U.S. Ex.Ex. track Chart of the World, Chart of the Antarctic Continent, Chart of the Viti Group or Feejee Islands, Map of the Oregon Territory and Map of part of the island of Hawaii Sandwich Islands shewing craters and eruption of May and June 1840. These charts are on thin paper and bound in. The Narrative was published in an official issue distributed in 1845 and other unofficial issues. These folded, bound atlas maps on thin paper are not to be confused with the separately sold, large navigation charts on heavy paper from the plates of the Atlas of Charts, Vol.I (1850)and Vol.II.(1858) to accompany Vol.XXIII, Hydrography, 1861.

17. Congress specified in 1845 that 100 copies of each volume produced for the U.S.Ex.Ex. be distributed according to an official distribution list - to each American state and territory and to foreign governments. France, Great Britain and Russia each were to receive two sets. Other countries were also named. The Naval Lyceum , and the three commanders of the principal ships, Wilkes, Hudson and Ringgold each were allocated one set. Unallocated sets were reserved for future distribution.

In 1845, when the extent of the U.S.Ex.Ex. materials was not yet known, Wilkes and others estimated a set of fifteen volumes. To account for the growth in the number of volumes as the scope of the U.S.Ex.Ex. collections became apparent, and to replace plates, pages and books lost to fire Congressional appropriations were sought and with great effort obtained almost annually until 1872. Ultimately twenty-four manuscript volumes were put forward by Wilkes, not all of which were funded and only two-thirds of that set printed sometimes in fewer than 100 copies. The volumes were not published sequentially.

18. Few separately sold charts come to market. A complete set of such separately issued charts has not been located during this stage of research. See, the New Bedford Whaling Museum collection. Harvard University. Rumsey. More typical are assembled or original whole editions of the bound Atlas of Charts, Vol.I and Vol.II.

19. Daniel C. Haskell, The United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 and Its Publications, A Bibliography, New York Public Library, New York, 1842.

Haskell's Bibliography documents what was published, distinguishing the date of actual publication from the publication date in the text and the official and unofficial issues or editions printed, and number of volumes printed. How many charts were sold separately is not stated.

Haskell identifies the separately published, unnumbered nautical charts as associated exclusively with the 1850 issue of Atlas, VOL.I. to accompany VOL. XXIII, Hydrography. In fact, one chart on offer, the Map of the Hawaiian Group, or Sandwich Islands is unnumbered yet identified in the index of the 1858 Atlas, Vol.II that Haskell describes as only containing numbered charts. This small but intriguing fact illustrates that the separately sold charts are hard to classify as to publication date if only with reference to the 1850 and 1858 Hydrography atlases. Haskell dates the printing of the Atlas of large folio charts on correspondence of Drayton to Wilkes in 1850 stating "...Vol.I Atlas is now printed."

20. Smithsonian Libraries, The United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842, digital edition, https://www.sil.si.edu/Digital Collections/usexex/learn/Overstreet-0...

21. Ehrenberg in Magnificent Voyagers, at p. 174 states that navigational charts were printed between 1843 and 1856. When all plates for the U.S.ExEx large scale charts were finished, or whether plates were used for printing as they became available, or were only used in 1850 and 1858 and whether such plates were revised in the course of their being used is documented variously but not consistently.

22. "Gosnold" is a historic Massachusetts family name from the 17th century. Bartholomew Gosnold is the name of a bark built in Falmouth, Massachusetts in 1832 and sailed from New Bedford, Massachusetts from 1847-1851 and again later. see ShipIndex.org for further details.

23. The finely drawn illustrations for the U.S.Ex.Ex. reports by artists Drayton and Agate marry art and accuracy. Their artwork predates photography as the scientific mode of presenting natural science, culture and other disciplines of the U.S.ExEx. That Drayton also had control over the production of the art prints was essential to the fineness of the art prints. Wilkes also insisted that the engravers be of the highest level of skill. The books of art prints are also termed "atlases" of the reports.

24.The nautical charts were drawn by James Alden, William May, Frederick D. Stuart, Robt. E. Johnson and the artist Joseph Drayton. Magnificent Voyagers, p. 167. Wilkes ruled that no surveyor, draftman or artist was permitted to put his name on any of the mapping work. Final drawings were prepared by Stuart and Drayton prior to shipping the manuscript maps to the engraver to create the copper plates. These plates were used to pull proofs, that were then corrected by Wilkes and Stuart, with Drayton making small corrections on the plates and larger corrections made by the plate engraver. In 1866, the charts' copper plates were transferred to the U.S. Navy Hydrography Office and updated as new surveys were performed. Stanton, p.365.

25. Drayton ultimately sourced quality paper from Milton, Massachusetts paper mills located either at Milton Upper or Lower Falls, the site of the first paper mill in New England. See Library of Congress and Magnificent Voyagers, p.173.

26. Drayton's legacy is a body of art and scientific literature about the world that were hitherto unknown and beyond the capacity of a single institution to manage. Drayton's art work guides generations in the ongoing appreciation of the U.S.Ex.Ex.

References:

Primary:

Daniel C. Haskell, The United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 and Its Publications, A Bibliography

New York Public Library, New York, 1842.

Smithsonian Digital Library:

From the Ends of the Earth The United States Exploring Expedition Collections. www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/usexex/learn/Walsh-01.htm.

Smithsonian Libraries, The United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842, digital edition, https://www.sil.si.edu/Digital Collections/usexex/learn/Overstreet-0...

https://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/usexex/learn/Overstreet-02.pdf

Smithsonian Collections, video of specimens collected, see https://www.c-span.org/video/?300321-1/us-exploring-expedition-1838-42-part-2

Stanton, William, The Great United States Exploring Expedition of 1838-1842

University of California Press, Berkeley and London, 1975

Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library, Early Mapping of Hawaii, please see:

http://www.ulukau.org/elib/cgi-bin/library?e=d-0map01-000Sec--11haw-50-20-frameset-book--1-010escapewin&a=d&d=D0&toc=0

Viola, Herman J. and Margolis, Carolyn Editors, Magnificent Voyagers, The U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., 1985

Other References:

D.Graham Burnett, "Chapter 5 Hydrographic Discipline Among the Navigators, Charting an Empire of Commerce and Science in the Nineteenth Century Pacific" from James R. Akerman, Editor, Cartography and the Mastery of Empire, The Imperial Map, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2009

Fiji Islands and U.S.Ex.Ex. first contact, please see,

https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/15538/1/OP31-12-49.pdf