A New Map of the States of California and Nevada…Exhibiting the Rivers, Lakes, Bays and Islands, with the principal Towns, Roads, Railroads and Transit Routes to the Silver Mining Districts…1867

Cartographer(s): A.J. Doolittle, Leander Ransom
Date: 1867
Place: San Francisco
Dimensions: 54.5 x 68.5 cm (21.5 x 27 in)
Condition Rating: VG+

Out of stock

SKU: NL-00672 Category:

Rare 1867 edition of Ransom & Doolittle’s map of California and Nevada, published in San Francisco by Warren Holt.

Details

One of the most interesting and detailed maps of the region, called by Wheat “a Nevada map of first importance.” (Wheat 1071, illustrated at p. 77). The map was first issued in 1862 (copyrighted 1861). In the first several editions of the map, the Nevada-Utah borders is on the 116th meridian. In one of the 1863 editions, the border is moved to the 115th Meridian. With this edition, the boundary now extends to the 114th meridian, further reducing the size of Utah.

Rumsey notes that this is a superb map, full of interesting and exotic information. The treatment of the Land and Mining Districts in Nevada and California is remarkable, as are the depiction of the roads in Nevada to the mining districts. The map is also one of the earliest maps of California printed in San Francisco.

In this 1867 edition, the title has been revised and Nevada is no longer truncated at the bottom, such that the Potosi District is now in Nevada, whereas in the earliest editions, it was still shown in New Mexico Territory and Arizona. Kern County and Inyo County now appear, having been created from parts of Los Angeles County and Tulare County. Lander County has been pushed to the north and Nye County and Lincoln County are now shown in Nevada,

There is also significantly more detail in Nevada, especially with respect to the rivers and topography in the eastern parts. Many new roads and mining districts are shown in Nevada.

One of the best large format maps of California from the period.

Cartographer(s):

A.J. Doolittle Leander Ransom

Leander Ransom was born on September 5, 1800, in Colchester Connecticut. He spent time in New York State, before moving to Ohio in 1825. Early in his career Ransom was employed by the Ohio Canal Company and in 1826 he was appointed to locate a portion of the Ohio Canal. Later he was appointed as Commissioner to the Ohio Canal Commission. In 1836 he was appointed as President of Board of Public Works of Ohio, a position he held for 13 Years.

Ransom first came to California in 1851 to work with Samuel D. King, who was the U. S. Surveyor General for California. King and Ransom left New York by steamer for California in May of 1851. They left their ship and crossed the Isthmus of Panama overland, then boarded another steamer and continued their trip to San Francisco. They landed in San Francisco on June 14, 1851, and set up offices there.

On July 8, 1851, King issued special instructions to Ransom for the establishment of the Initial Point on Mount Diablo and the initial surveys of the Meridian and Base Line. King charged Ransom to “Go to Mount Diablo and provide that: an east and west Base and north and south Meridian line be run and established passing through the most prominent peak of Mount Diablo.”

From July 1851 to September 1851, Ransom conducted the first Public Land Survey in California as Deputy Surveyor. The Mount Diablo Principal Meridian and Base Line extending from the Mount Diablo Initial Point, established on July 17, 1851 by Ransom, controls Public Land Surveys within two-thirds of California and all of Nevada. In August of 1852, King ordered Ransom to examine the southern California region of San Bernardino Mountains to see if it would be feasible to establish an initial point on its summit. Ransom reported to King that it would be possible. In September of 1852, King issued instructions to Henry Washington, Deputy Surveyor to establish the San Bernardino Initial Point.

After completing these tasks, Ransom would go on to serve as Chief Clerk in the California Surveyor General’s Office in San Francisco until the 1860s.

In 1853 Ransom became a Charter Member of the California Academy of Sciences. In addition, he was an early and active member of the Academy, serving as President for eleven terms beginning in 1856.

Condition Description

Professionally flattened.

References