"Track of the U.S. Surveying Brig Dolphin", U.S. Navy Dept.

Large folding chart illustrating in great detail the 1851 voyage of the surveying brigantine Dolphin from New York to the Cape Verde islands. The Dolphin, under Lieutenant Samuel Phillips Lee's command, ruled out the existence of various banks, rocks, shallow spots and other phenomena that were previously reported to exist. Lee's report and chart were instrumental in Commander Matthew Fontaine Maury's establishment of the U.S. Naval Observatory and Hydrographical Office and acceptance of the new science of oceanography. Folding into embossed (Senate Document) boards with the paper label inside front: "The Bar Library, of the U.S. District and Circuit Courts, for the District of Vermont - presented by Hon. Solomon Foot.

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Condition: C

Minor toning along folds with some separations at several fold intersections.