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Map of Ulster Co. New York.
Philadelphia: Taintor, Dawson & Co., publishers, 1858. Hand-colored lithograph, 61” x 60.5”, dissected and mounted on linen, original marbled paper affixed to outer panels. CONDITION: Very good, a few small stains, light edge wear, a few small holds in linen at folds, a few small chips and creases at edges of segments. A brilliantly colored and richly detailed case map of Ulster County, New York by John Homer French, the compilation of which was part of the foreground to the publication of his landmark map, The State of New York from New and Original Surveys, which appeared a year later. The map shows the eighteen towns of Ulster County, the eastern edge of which is bounded by the Hudson River. Among the details included are the extensive network of roads, numerous tracts and parcels of land (including those belonging to members of the Livingston family, one of the most important landholders in the region), bodies of water, a multitude of homes and commercial buildings identified by property owner, ferry crossings and lighthouses on the Hudson, and so on. County boundaries are variously colored. Thirty-three inset maps in the margins show villages and business districts, including Kingston (the county seat), Port Ewen, Malden, Saugerties, and Ellenville. Business directories accompany eight of these, listing saloons, blacksmiths, bakeries, dentists, hotels, newspapers, physicians, etc. A vignette illustration of a single building appears in each of the four corners of the map, showing Mansion House in Rondout, the Eagle Hotel in Kingston, New Paltz Academy in New Paltz, and the Court House in Kingston. In 1853, Robert Pearsall Smith (1827–1898) began contracting with a range of local surveyors to construct maps of New York counties. A letter by Smith from 1853 addressed to two surveyors outlines his agreement with them: “As arranged in our interview today I hereby agree to furnish an engraving of your new map of Ulster County New York equal in style to my map of Orange County without charge or cost to you. In repayment you give me the full use of the said map of Ulster County for use and reduction for a State map of New York.” However, the earlier surveys of counties, including the map of Ulster County mentioned in this letter, were unacceptable for compiling the state map, so the county maps were resurveyed. In 1855 Smith hired John Homer French to oversee the project, resulting in part in the map offered here. As Ristow notes, while the individual county maps were of differing quality, they were far more consistent and comprehensive than the local surveys conducted for any other American state. French and Smith’s The State of New York from New and Original Surveys, first published in 1859, superseded David Burr’s Atlas of the State of New York (1829), as the most accurate reference for the topography of the state, until two decades later when the U.S. Geological Survey began publishing maps that incorporated original triangulation. Born in Batavia, New York, John Homer French (1824–1888) was a surveyor, mathematician, and teacher who was serving as headmaster of Newtown Academy in Connecticut (1852–55) when he started publishing township plans in his free time. After resigning from his teaching job in 1855, French began working with Robert Pearsall Smith in Syracuse to undertake surveys for the New York State map. When assembling his team of surveyors, French employed some of his former students to conduct new surveys from 1857 to 1859. Their surveys resulted in the publication of Gillette’s Map of Oneida Co. New York (Philadelphia, 1858), Gazetteer of the State of New York… (Syracuse: R. P. Smith, 1860), and Historical and Statistical Gazetteer of New York State (Syracuse: R. P. Smith, 1860). Based in Philadelphia, Taintor, Dawson & Co. also published Map of Franklin County (Philadelphia, 1858). A most attractive and engaging county map by a key figure in the mapping of the state. REFERENCES: Ristow, American Maps & Mapmakers, pp. 355–78; Rumsey 0934; Tooley’s Dictionary of Mapmakers (Riverside, CT, 2004), vol. E–J, p. 106; vol. Q–Z p. 242; “John Homer French” at French Family Association online.
Item #7602
Price: $3,750.00
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