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Description

Rare early set of 3 charts of Florida the tip of Southeastern Florida (Miami, Key Biscayne, Fort Lauderdale area) and the Bahamas. While primarily focused on the Bahamas, the map is also a rare and interesting map for its treatment of South Florida.

The general map shows the area around Key Biscayne, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and the Cape Florida Lighthouse on a larger map extending to Abaco Cay, Eleuthra and New Providence, along with detailed maps showing the regions around the Gun Cay and Abaco Lighthouses, with illustrations of the profiles of both lighthouses.

The Cape Florida Lighthouse was built in 1825. It is the oldest building in South Florida. During the Second Seminole War (1835-8142), the Lighthouse was attacked in July 1836, causing the settlers in the region to flea to the south. On July 23, 1836, the lighthouse was severely burned, although the assistant lighthouse keeper survived and was rescued by a Navy Schooner. The lighthouse remained out of service until April 30, 1847. It operated again until 1861, when it was looted and partially destroyed by Confederate sympathizers. Ironically, the present map was published in September 1836, shortly after the destruction of the lighthouse.

The map is part of an extensive mapping of the area of Florida and the Bahamas undertaken by the British Admiralty at the beginning of the 19th Century, which truly began to flourish by the 1830s, as the region became an important part of the British Trade in the region. At the height of this region, indigenous products and slaves were extensively traded by the British and Americans, making the British outposts in the Bahamas an essential link for British commerce and spurring the need for highly detailed maps of the region.

British Admiralty Biography

The British Admiralty has produced nautical charts since 1795 under the auspices of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (HO). Its main task was to provide the Royal Navy with navigational products and service, but since 1821 it has also sold charts to the public.

In 1795, King George III appointed Alexander Dalrymple, a pedantic geographer, to consolidate, catalogue, and improve the Royal Navy’s charts. He produced the first chart as the Hydrographer to the Admiralty in 1802. Dalrymple, known for his sticky personality, served until his death in 1808, when he was succeeded by Captain Thomas Hurd. The HO has been run by naval officers ever since.

Hurd professionalized the office and increased its efficiency. He was succeeded by the Arctic explorer Captain William Parry in 1823. By 1825, the HO was offering over seven hundred charts and views for sale. Under Parry, the HO also began to participate in exploratory expeditions. The first was a joint French-Spanish-British trip to the South Atlantic, a voyage organized in part by the Royal Society of London.

In 1829, Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort was appointed Hydrographer Royal. Under his management, the HO introduced the wind force scale named for him, as well as began issuing official tide tables (1833). It was under Beaufort that HMS Beagle completed several surveying missions, including its most famous voyage commanded by Captain FitzRoy with Charles Darwin onboard. When Beaufort retired in 1855, the HO had nearly two thousand charts in its catalog.

Later in the nineteenth century, the HO supported the Challenger expedition, which is credited with helping to found the discipline of oceanography. The HO participated in the International Meridian Conference which decided on the Greenwich Meridian as the Prime Meridian. Regulation and standardization of oceanic and navigational measures continued into the twentieth century, with the HO participating at the first International Hydrographic Organization meeting in 1921.

During World War II, the HO chart making facility moved to Taunton, the first purpose-built building it ever inhabited. In 1953, the first purpose-built survey ship went to sea, the HMS Vidal. Today, there is an entire class of survey vessels that make up the Royal Navy’s Hydrographic Squadron. The HO began to computerize their charts in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1968, the compilation staff also came to Taunton, and the HO continues to work from there today.