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MAP #: 268M5

CARTOGRAPHER : J. MYNDE [ENGRAVER]

DATE: 1768

SHORT TITLE : A MAP OF THAT PART OF AMERICA

REMAINING TITLE & ID : WHERE A DEGREE OF LATITUDE WAS MEASURED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY BY CHA: MASON, & JERE: DIXON. (CARTOUCHE, LOWER RIGHT). "J. MYNDE SCULP." (BELOW THE BOTTOM NEAT LINE TO THE RIGHT). "PHILOS. TRANS. VOL. I. VIII. TAB XIV. P.325." (ABOVE TOP NEAT LINE TO THE RIGHT). MILE SCALE (2.1 CM. = 30 MI.,LOWER LEFT CORNER). THERE IS NOTHING ON THE REVERSE SIDE. LONGITUDE (NOT SHOWN). LATITUDE (RIGHT BORDER).

DATE OF PUBLICATION : S1768
PLACE OF PUBLICATION : LONDON
PUBLISHER : ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON
LANGUAGE(S) : EN
SIZE (HEIGHT X WIDTH) : 16.8 X 9.8 CM.
SIZE - OTHER DATA : 23 X 34 CM OM (WITH BOOK OPEN)
SCALE - (RF) 1: : 2,300,000
SCALE - OTHER DATA : 2.1 CM. = 30 MI.
LIB. OF CONGRESS # : -
Md. HALL OF RECORDS # 1 : G1399-74 (1ST ED.)
# 2 : G1399-227 (2ND ED.)
HUNTINGFIELD ACQ. # 1 : S019-HG2Q (1ST ED.)
# 2 : A022-H2 (2ND ED.)
REGION CATEGORY : GENERAL MAP WHERE MD/CHESAPEAKE IS ONE MAIN FOCUS (1)
SPECIAL CATEGORY(IES) : MASON-DIXON RELATED (5)
# SHEETS TO MAP : 1
MAP ORIENTATION : N IS AT THE TOP OF THE MAP.
RELIEF SHOWN ? : YES
HYDROGRAPHIC DATA : NONE
CARTOUCHE : SIMPLE PLASTERWORK (14)
BORDER : GEOGRAPHICALLY FUNCTIONAL (8)
PRIME MERIDIAN(S) : NONE
SEE ALSO MAP #s : 269M5.
BEST INFO SOURCE : WILFORD IS THE BEST FOUND.
DESCRIPTION : THIS IS THE FIRST EDITION OF THIS MAP, WHICH WAS PRODUCED ANONYMOUSLY TO ACCOMPANAY CHAS. MASON'S REPORT "OBSERVATIONS FOR DETERMINING THE LENGTH OF A DEGREE OF LATITUDE", WHICH APPEARED IN THE PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, 1768, PP. 274-328. THE MAP WAS OPP. PAGE 325. THE MAP ALSO APPEARS IN A SEPARATE BINDING OF THE PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY DATED LONDON, 1769, PRINTED BY L. DAVIS AND C. REYMERS, PRINTERS FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY AGAINST GRAY'S INN GATE IN HOLBOURN. IT COVERS FROM PAGE 269 TO 334.

MASON (1728-86), ASTRONOMER AND GEODESIST AT THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY AND HIS ASSOCIATE DIXON (1733-79) WERE NAMED BY THE ROYAL ASTRONOMER, NATHANIEL BLISS TO GO TO AMERICA TO SURVEY THE COMMON BOUNDARIES OF PA., MD., DEL., AND VA. THEY WERE ENGAGED IN THE DELICATE AND LABORIOUS TASK FOR NEARLY FIVE YEARS, HIRING LOCAL SURVEYORS TO ASSIST THEM IN OBSERVATIONS AND CALCULATIONS AND LOCAL LABORERS TO CUT VISTOES AND SET BOUNDARY STONES. THEY ALSO MEASURED A DEGREE OF LATITUDE (WHICH THIS MAP COVERS) AND CONDUCTED STUDIES OF THE VARIATION OF GRAVITY WITH LATITUDE.

THIS SMALL MAP COVERS AN AREA FROM PHILADELPHIA TO JUST SOUTH OF CAPE HENRY AND FROM N.J. TO 25 MILES WEST OF BALTIMORE. IT SHOWS THE MAIN ROADS.

A SECOND EDITION OF THE MAP APPEARED IN THE GENTLEMEN'S MAGAZINE OF NOVEMBER, 1769 (SEE MAP # 269A5). THE SECOND EDITION ILLUSTRATED FOUR PAGES OF TEXT CONTAINING 2 ARTICLES ENTITLED THE LENGTH OF A DEGREE OF LATITUDE IN THE PROVINCE OF MARYLAND AND PENNSYLVANIA, DETERMINED FROM THE OBSERVATIONS OF MESSRS. CHARLES MASON AND JEREMIAH DIXON, APPOINTED BY THE ROYAL SOCIETY AND FURTHER REFLECTIONS ON MESS. MASON'S AND DIXON'S MEASURE OF A DEGREE OF LATITUDE, IN NORTH AMERICA

JOHN MYNDE ENGRAVED THE FIRST EDITION. THE ENGRAVER OF THE SECOND ED. IS UNKNOWN. THE FIRST EDITION WAS PRINTED BY L. DAVIS AND C. REYMERS,PRINTERS TO THE ROYAL SOCIETY. THE SECOND EDITION PRINTER IS NOT KNOWN.

DATA IS FROM PHILLIPS, THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY REPRINT OF THE MASON-DIXON JOURNAL AND FROM THE 1769 REBOUND STUDY.

EDITION & STATE INFO : TWO EDITIONS OF THIS MAP ARE KNOWN TO EXIST. NO STATE CHANGES HAVE BEEN OBSERVED.

1ST ED.-(1768)- THIS IS THE MAP DESCRIBED.THE TITLE READS "CHA:" AND "JERE:" FOR THE FIRST NAMES OF MASON AND DIXON. "THE CAPES OF VIRGINIA" IS WRITTEN IN A SEMICIRCULAR FASHION STARTING FROM CAPE HENRY TO CAPE CHARLES. THE "R" FOLLOWING "POTOWMACK" IS NEARLY TOUCHING THE "K" IN "CHESOPEAK BAY".BELOW THE NEAT LINE AT THE BOTTOM TO THE RIGHT IS "J. MYNDE SCULP.".ABOVE THE TOP NEAT LINE TO THE RIGHT IS "PHILOS. TRANS. VOL. I. VIII. TAB XIV. P. 325.". THIS EDITION MEASURES 15.5 X 9.7 CM. IT ACCOMPANIED CHAS. MASON'S REPORT "OBSERVATIONS FOR DETERMINING THE LENGTH OF A DEGREE OF LATITUDE" IN THE PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, 1768, PP. 274-328.

2ND ED.-(1769)- THE PUNCTUATION IN THE TITLE AFTER "CHA" AND "JERE" HAS BEEN CHANGED TO PERIODS. THE "S" IN MASON BECOMES AN OLD ENGLISH S. "THE CARTOUCHE IS CHANGED FROM AN IRREGULAR SCROLLED BORDER IN THE FIRST EDITION TO A NEAT DOUBLE LINED SQUARE. "THE CAPES OF VIRGINIA" IS NOW WRITTEN IN THREE SHORT LINES EAST OF CAPE CHARLES. THE "R" FOLLOWING POTOWMACK" IS TO THE LEFT OF AND BELOW THE "K" IN "CHESOPEAK BAY". "J. MYNDE SCULP" IS DELETED. AT THE TOP RIGHT ABOVE THE NEAT LINE, IT NOW READS "GENT. MAG. NOV. 1769".

DATA IS FROM PERSONAL OBSERVATION OF THE TWO EDITIONS.

HFC OWNERSHIP DATA : HFC HAS EXCELLENT COPIES OF BOTH THE FIRST AND SECOND EDITIONS IN BLACK AND WHITE. THE FIRST EDITION IS IN THE 1769 SEPARATE REBINDING OF THE ORIGINAL PAGES OF THE PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS, WHICH IS BOUND WITH MODERN DECORATIVE BOARDS, RED MOROCCO AND GILT LABEL ON THE SPINE. THE HFC ACQ. # IS S019-HG2Q AND THE MDHR # IS G1399-74. HFC'S SECOND EDITION IS A SEPARATE, WHICH IS FRAMED. IT HAS AN HFC ACQ. # OF A022-H2 AND A MDHR # OF G1399-227.

BIBLIGRAPHICAL REFS. : REPRINT OF THE JOURNAL OF CHARLES MASON & JEREMIAH DIXON, AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, PHILADELPHIA, 1969; PHILLIPS, MAPS, P. 393;P.J. RADFORD, MAP CATALOG 10A, 1973, ITEM 32 AND MAP CATALOG A14, 1975, ITEM 43; LALANDE, ASTRONOMIQUE, P. 50; DICTIONARY OF SCIENTIFIC BIOGRAPHY: IX, PP. 164-165 (MASON) AND V, PP. 131-132 (DIXON); WILFORD, JOHN NOBLE, THE MAP MAKERS, ALFRED A. KNOPF, NEW YORK, 1981, PP. 181-2.

March 23, 1988


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