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MAP #: 269M5

CARTOGRAPHER : MASON, CHARLES & DIXON, JEREMIAH

DATE: 1769

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). "GENT. MAG. NOV. 1769" (ABOVE NEAT LINE AT TOP 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 : R1769(1768)
PLACE OF PUBLICATION : LONDON
PUBLISHER : GENTLEMEN'S MAGAZINE
LANGUAGE(S) : EN
SIZE (HEIGHT X WIDTH) : 16.0 X 9.7 CM.
SIZE - OTHER DATA : 22 X 12 CM. OM
SCALE - (RF) 1: : 2,300,000
SCALE - OTHER DATA : 2.1 CM. = 30 MI.
LIB. OF CONGRESS # : -
Md. HALL OF RECORDS # 1 : G1399-227 (2ND. ED.)
# 2 : G1399-74 (1ST. ED.)
HUNTINGFIELD ACQ. # 1 : A022-H2 (2ND. ED.)
# 2 : S019-HG2Q (1ST. 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 LINE FRAME (2)
BORDER : GEOGRAPHICALLY FUNCTIONAL (8)
PRIME MERIDIAN(S) : NONE
SEE ALSO MAP #s : 268M5.
BEST INFO SOURCE : WILFORD IS THE BEST FOUND.
DESCRIPTION : THIS IS THE SECOND EDITION OF A MAP THAT ORIGINALLY ACCCOMPANIED CHARLES MASON'S REPORT, "OBSERVATIONS FOR DETERMINING THE LENGTH OF A DEGREE OF LATITUDE", WHICH APPEARED IN PHILOSOPHICAL TSRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, 1768, PP. 274-328. THE MAP WAS OPP. PAGE 325. (SEE MAP # 268M5). IT ALSO APPEARED IN A 1769 SEPARATE REBINDING OF THE ORIGINAL PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS AGES OF THE STUDY.

THE SECOND EDITION WAS DONE FOR THE GENTLEMEN'S MAGAZINE OF NOVEMBER, 1769. IT ILLUSTRATED FOUR PAGES OF TEXT CONTAINING TWO ARTICLES ENTITLED THE LENGTH OF A DEGREE OF LATITUDE IN THE PROVINCES 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. IT 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.

JOHN MYNDE ENGRAVED THE FIRST EDITION. THE ENGRAVER OF THE SECOND EDITION IS UNKNOWN. THE FIRST EDITION WAS PRINTED BY L. DAVIS AND C. REYMERS, PRINTERS TO THE ROYAL SOCIETY. THE SECOND EDITION PRINTER IS SNOT KNOWN.

DATA IS FROM PHILLIPS, AND A REPRINT OF THE MASON-DIXON JOURNAL BY THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY DATED 1969. A REPRODUCTION OF THE FIRST EDITION OF THIS MAP IS GIVEN ON PAGE 26 OF THAT REPRINT. ADDITIONAL DATA IS FROM PERSONAL OBSERVATION OF THE HFC COPIES OF BOTH EDITIONS.

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

1ST ED.-(1768)- 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. SEE MAP # 268M5.

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". THIS IS THE MAP DESCRIBED HEREIN.

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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