Grace
Galleries, Inc
(Incorporated 1972)
“The Atlantic Neptune”
(1774 - 1781)
by Grace Galleries of Harpswell, Maine
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J. F. W. Des Barres
The Atlantic
Neptune was the first great marine atlas, published in England in
1774, to contain both charts and views of
the North American coasts. The charts were intensely detailed and
contained both hydrographical and topographical details, and were of
such quality that they were in use as the standard charts of the East
coast for over 50 years.
The Neptune was compiled and published for the Royal Navy by Joseph F. W. Des Barres, a Swiss who became a British subject and who came to America with the Royal American Regiment in 1756, as an engineer/surveyor. He fought in the French and Indian wars and from 1764-1773 he surveyed the coasts of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and the St. Lawrence River regions, while his fellow surveyor, Samuel Holland & others, surveyed the New England coast and points to the southward. In 1774 Des Barres returned to England to begin the monumental task of compiling his great atlas which he reissued and updated over the next 10 years. In 1784 he was appointed Lt. Governor of Cape Breton Island and subsequently became Lt. Governor of Prince Edward Island; finally dying in Halifax in 1824 at the age of 102. In the 1960's the Barre Publishing Company attempted to republish the Atlantic Neptune in its entirety, but due to financial difficulties the project was never totally completed. The reproductions were printed in offset lithography from the original plates and hand colored in watercolor, as the originals. They were printed on a rag content paper similar to the 18th. century paper of the originals. While, at the time, we had a complete set of the Barre Co's reproductions, the following sheets are the last items left in our collection of these stunning charts.
Photos shown on listings are
thumbnail versions. Measurements are given in
inches, height first, then width. See also our listings for
US-Canada,
New York, Massachusetts |
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DB101 - “Chart of Portland Sound to Cape Small.” 1776. (Casco Bay, Maine.) 2 sheets. Each. 29X21. Can be joined for framing.
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$500 pair |
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$275 |
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$250 |
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$275 |
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DB106 - “Eaton's Neck to New York Bay”, (North shore of Long Island, New York.) 2 sheets. Each 28½X22. Can be joined for framing.
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$275 pair |
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DB108 - “Pennsylvania Counties of Newcastle, Chester, Philadelphia and Bucks”. (Delaware River showing Philadelphia and Wilmington, and part of New Jersey.) 1777. 2 sheets. Each sheet 30X21. Can be joined for framing.
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$375 pair |
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DB109 - “A Plan of the Posts of York and Gloucester in the Province of Virginia. Established by His Majesty's Army under the Command of Lieut. General Cornwallis, together with the Attacks and Operations of the American & French Forces Commanded by General Washington and the Count of Rochambeau, Which Terminated in the Surrender of the Posts and Army on the 17th. of October 1781. Surveyed by Captn. Foge of the Royal Artillery”. London 1782. 2 sheets each 29½X20½. (Can be joined for framing.)
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$375 pair |
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Grace Galleries, Inc. |
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Copyright. Grace Galleries, Inc. 2010
This page was last updated on March 28th, 2010 Webmaster, John W. Snowe, Harpswell, Maine john@harpswell.com