COLLECTION NAME:
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
Record
Author:
Norman, William, -1807
Date:
1794
Short Title:
[Chart of the coast of Maine.]
Publisher:
Norman, William, -1807
Publisher Location:
Boston
Type:
Atlas Map
Obj Height cm:
52
Obj Width cm:
84
Scale 1:
17,500,000
Note:
Nautical chart representing the coast line of Maine. Shows islands, cities, topography, bodies of water, drainage, coastline, bays, ports, shoals, and depths, given in fathoms. Relief shown with hachures. Includes rhumb lines, latitudinal and longitudinal lines, as well as a compass rose with north oriented toward top of sheet. Black and white engraving. Handwritten annotation, in graphite, at bottom right margin: Coast of Maine. Chart is 52 x 84 cm, on double sheet 55 x 84 cm.
Region:
Atlantic Coast (Me.)
Subject:
Nautical Charts
Full Title:
[Chart of the coast of Maine.]
List No:
14485.014
Series No:
14
Engraver or Printer:
Norman, William, -1807
Publication Author:
Norman, William, -1807
Pub Date:
1794
Pub Title:
The American Pilot : Containing the navigation of the sea coast of North America, from the streights of Belle Isle to Cayenne, including the island and banks of Newfoundland, the West India islands, and all the islands on the coast. With particular directions for sailing to, and entering the principal harbours, rivers, &c. Describing also the capes, head lands, rivers, bays, roads, havens, harbours, straits, rocks, sands, shoals, banks, depths of water, and anchorage. Showing the courses and distances from one place to another, the ebbing of the sea, the setting of the tides and currents, &c. With many other things necessary to be know in navigation. Likewise necessary directions for those who are not fully acquainted with the use of charts. Boston September 10th. 1794. Teacher of the Mathematics. Boston. Printed and sold by Wm. Norman at his office no.75 Newbury Street MDCCXCIIII. Where may be had Huddards St. Georges Channel - Thompsons North Sea - British Channel - Bay of Biscay - Coast of Spain and Portugal - Mediteranean Sea - Nantucket Harbour.
Pub Note:
The American Pilot : Containing the navigation of the sea coast of North America, from the streights of Belle Isle to Cayenne, including the island and banks of Newfoundland, the West India islands, and all the islands on the coast … Published by William Norman in Boston, 1794. Folio; rebound in half calf over boards. Atlas comprised of eleven charts (including one ancillary chart and one inset chart). Charts show coastlines, cities, topography, vegetation, bodies of water, drainage, bays, ports, anchorage, shoals, rocks, directions of currents, and depths, given in fathoms. One chart features pictorial illustrations of ships and a sea monster; another provides descriptive notes with navigational instructions. Copper-plate engravings. The 1794 version of John and William Norman's American Pilot features foundational maps of Nantucket by Pinkham and the Carolinas by Daniel Dunbibin. This atlas is among the earliest to be published in the United States. In 1785, John Norman had proposed to the Massachusetts legislature to print a "Correct Set of Compleat Maps" depicting the coast from Newfoundland's Banks to the Gulf of Mexico. These maps were meant to align with the recent surveys conducted by the British Government, such as those by J.F.W. Des Barres, Samuel Holland, and others published in the Atlantic Neptune. Norman's proposal claimed that these drafts would be published on different scales to enhance their usefulness and offer printed directions and observations for mariners. This would enable safer navigation along the extensive sea coast. John Norman announced in the Boston Gazette on January 1, 1790, that he was engraving new charts of the entire American coast on a large scale. The American Pilot proved a great success. Following the first edition, he reissued the work in 1792 and 1794, after which his son William published further editions in 1794, 1795, 1798, 1801, and 1803. After William's early death in 1807, John resumed control and released editions in 1810 and 1812 before selling the work to Andrew Allen, who published a final edition in 1816. Despite the lengthy publication history, the Pilot is one of the rarest early American atlases. This William Norman edition includes a title page, five pages of sailing directions, and a broadside on the front paste-down advertising atlases and maps for sale at Norman's shop at 75 Newbury Street. The eleven charts provide coverage at varying scales from Surinam on the northern coast of South America to the waters surrounding Newfoundland. The four-sheet Chart of the Bay of Chesapeak Including Delaware Bay makes its first appearance in this edition. This chart closely resembles one featured in The Atlantic Neptune, with the additions of Washington, D.C., and "President Washingtons," referring to his Mount Vernon plantation. References Guthorn, United States Coastal Charts, pp. 40-41 (illus.) Phillips, Atlases, vol. 4 no. 4474a (J. Norman, 1792 ed.) and 4475 (J. Norman, 1794 ed.) Streeter I:78 (W. Norman, 1798 ed.) Wheat & Brun, Maps and Charts Published in America before 1800, R-329 (our edition) Sabin 55497 (W. Norman, 1798 ed.) For background see David Bosse, “Matthew Clark and the Beginnings of Chart Publishing in the United States,” Imago Mundi 63:1 (2011), pp. 22-38. A second source treating states of the individual charts is Robert M. Ericson, “A Bibliography of The American Pilot,”an unpublished college-level thesis, though I don’t trust it as highly as Wheat & Brun. However, Ericson conducted a census locating 17 examples of the The American Pilot, and he provides a detailed list of the contents of each. (Historical notes from Barry Lawrence Ruderman.)
Pub List No:
14485.000
Pub Type:
Chart Atlas
Pub Maps:
11
Pub Height cm:
56
Pub Width cm:
46
Image No:
14485014.jp2
Authors:
Norman, William, -1807
![[Chart of the coast of Maine.]](https://media.davidrumsey.com/MediaManager/srvr?mediafile=/Size3/RUMSEY~8~1/213/14485014.jpg)