This is a monumental and rarely available three part 1857 nautical chart or maritime map of the Chesapeake Bay.  Prepared for the 1857 edition of the U.S. Coast Survey’s  Superintendent’s Report  this giant map covers from the top of the Chesapeake Bay and the mouth of the Susquehanna River to the mouth of the Potomac River.  The top or first chart covers from the head of the Bay to the Mouth of the Magothy River, inclusive of the Patapsco River and the city of Baltimore – which is detailed to the street level.  The second or middle chart covers from the Magothy River to the mouth of the Hudson River and includes Annapolis, Cambridge, and Easton.  This second chart also bears the title of the three map series in addition to its individual title. The bottom or third chart in this series covers from the mouth of the Hudson River to the mouth of the Potomac River.  The United States Coast Survey considered the construction of a detailed map of the Chesapeake Bay to be one of its top priorities. Various commands under Blunt, Maffit, Cutts, Hassler, Lee, Nelson, Gerdes, and others contributed extensive data to the multi-year effort.  Careful observers will note that the upper sheets seem darker than the lower sheets.  In the effort to map this region, the northern extremes of the Chesapeake Bay, long considered the most dangerous and poorly charted, where given precedence.  Thus does a density of data, including countless depth soundings, topographical data, and sailing instructions,  give evidence to the stately progress of the survey in the Chesapeake Bay.  Each sheet from this series measures some 30 x 37 inches for an overall dimension of roughly 93 x 38 inches.   Though these maps do occasionally appear individually they are rarely available as a set and are exceptionally uncommon in such excellent condition.   Published under the supervision of A. D. Bache, one of the most active and influential Superintendents of the U.S. Coast Survey.
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Coast_Survey" class="extiw" title="en:United States Coast Survey">United States Coast Survey</a></div>
1857 (dated)
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