This is a MapHist list message (when you hit 'reply' you're replying to the whole list) o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o +
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The ongoing discussion relating to copper
plates leads me to wonder just what happened to the 12,000 odd plates of U.S. topographic sheets that the USGS had in storage in the 1970s. They were paying about $30K/year for storage and in every budget cycle there was pressure to get rid of them. Duane Marble On 11/1/2010 2:45 AM, Cook, Andrew wrote: This is a MapHist list message (when you hit 'reply' you're replying to the whole list) o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + I remember that the UK Hydrographic Office collection of copper plates, including some dating back to Dalrymple and the East India Company in the 1770s, was inventoried by David Mann (UKHO) in the 1980s. Since then the large majority has been transferred to storage in the care of Admiralty Library at Portsmouth, with a sample few going to the British Library. Even the UK National Archives has one. The UKHO retained some, chiefly for exhibition purposes, but some (regrettably for historical scholarship) for honorific presentation to retired senior UKHO officers and others. Only a fraction of the number of plates ever made now survives: plates were consistently re-used for new engraving, or disposed of as scrap copper when they fractured. Best official points of contact now are the Admiralty Librarian at Naval Historical Branch, Portsmouth, and the Archive Research Manager at UKHO Taunton. I have (privately) copies of the 1980s inventory and subsequent derived lists, and may be able to answer basic questions about the survival of particular plates, if required. NB: UKHO transferred the suriviving plates of Des Barres' Atlantic Neptune to North American collections after the Second World War. An investigation of these was made for the ICHC in Ottawa in 1985, where a demonstration press was set up to print from one of the plates. Hope this is useful Andrew Cook Andrew S Cook PhD FRHistS FRSA FSAScot Map Archivist, India Office Records T +44 (0) 20 7412 7828 F +44 (0) 20 7412 7641 [email protected] The British Library 96 Euston Road London NW1 2DB www.bl.uk � -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Wildeman, Diederick Sent: 29 October 2010 08:11 To: Discussion group for map history Subject: [MapHist] collections copper plates of nautical charts This is a MapHist list message (when you hit 'reply' you're replying to the whole list) o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + Dear all. Until ca. the 1950-1960 many national hydrographic services produced their nautical charts using copper plates. I have noticed - for instance - that the nineteenth century Spanish plates are mentioned in: Luisa Martin-Mer�s (ed.) La Direcci�n de Trabajos Hidrogr�ficos (1797)-1908). Madrid : Ministerio de Defensa, Sectretaria General T�chnica, 2003. I was wondering if members of this list are aware of collections of plates, where they are preserved (by the hydrographic services themselves or in other collections), and if they are mentioned in literature. All help is appreciated. Regards, Diederick Wildeman conservator zeevaartkunde & bibliotheekcollecties / curator of navigation & library collections Postadres / Postal address: Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum / Netherlands Maritime Museum Postbus / PO Box 15443 1001 MK Amsterdam [Netherlands] Kantoor tot midden 2011 / Office until mid 2011 Marine-kazerne Amsterdam / Naval Base Amsterdam Gaarne eerst afpaak maken / please make appointment first Kattenburgerstraat 7, Amsterdam Telephone: .... 00 31 (0)20 - 52 32 251 Fax : .... 00 31 (0)20 - 52 32 213 e-mail : [email protected] website : www.scheepvaartmuseum.nl _______________________________________________ MapHist: E-mail discussion group on the history of cartography hosted by the Faculty of Geosciences, University of Utrecht. The statements and opinions expressed in this message are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Utrecht. The University of Utrecht does not take any responsibility for the views of the author. List Information: http://www.maphist.nl Maphist mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.geo.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/maphist --
Dr. Duane F. Marble Email: dmarble at OregonFast.net
2226 Primrose Lane Telephone: 541.902.8837
Florence, OR 97439 Cell: 541.991.1730
Emeritus Professor of Geography -- The Ohio State University
Courtesy Professor of Geosciences -- Oregon State University
The most exciting phrase to hear in science,
the one that heralds new discoveries,
is not “Eureka” but “That’s funny...”
—Isaac Asimov (1920–1992)
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_______________________________________________ MapHist: E-mail discussion group on the history of cartography hosted by the Faculty of Geosciences, University of Utrecht. The statements and opinions expressed in this message are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Utrecht. The University of Utrecht does not take any responsibility for the views of the author. List Information: http://www.maphist.nl Maphist mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.geo.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/maphist
