Catalog Archive
Auction 159, Lot 388

"[Untitled - Atlantic Ocean and Position of the Gulf Stream]", Williams, Jonathan

Subject: North Atlantic

Period: 1793 (published)

Publication: Transactions of the American Philosophical Society Volume III

Color: Black & White

Size:
16.3 x 7.9 inches
41.4 x 20.1 cm
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This rare map was drawn in 1793 by Jonathan Williams and was published in Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Held in Philadelphia, for Promoting Useful Knowledge, Volume III by the American Philosophical Society. The map features some place names scattered along the coastlines, but most of the detail is in the Atlantic. It shows the routes taken and measurement locations Williams used to prove the existence of the Gulf Stream. Williams' related article "On the Use of the Thermometer in Discovering Banks, Soundings, Etc." describes the methods used to prove the existence of the Gulf Stream, a theory first proposed by Benjamin Franklin in his famous paper published in Volume II. Williams accompanied Franklin in crossing the Atlantic in 1785 and another passage in 1789.

References:

Condition: B+

Issued folding, now pressed, with light soiling and a 2" fold separation at top that has been professionally repaired on verso. Paper watermarked with "SC" and a sun.

Estimate: $950 - $1,200

Sold for: $500

Closed on 9/14/2016

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