TABLES OF DIFFERENCE OF LATITUDE AND DEPARTURE by (ROBERTSON, John)

Philadelphia: Joseph Crukshank, 1785.. [1],90pp. Contemporary American wallet-style binding of reverse calf, tooled in blind. Much of the spine is perished, wallet flap detached but present, with attached leather tie. A few old stains in the upper portion of the beginning text, else quite clean internally. Contemporary ownership signature on titlepage, one instance of a contemporary manuscript correction in text. Bookplate of Frank Streeter on front pastedown. Very good. In a folding cloth clamshell box, spine gilt. The rare first edition of this early American surveying guide, of practical use for navigators as well. The entire text is comprised of intricately calculated tables giving departure and latitude coordinates. Evans and Rink attribute later editions to John Robertson. This first edition is not listed separately in Evans, but is a part of his record for Robert Gipson's A TREATISE OF PRACTICAL SURVEYING..., with which it was issued in 1785. Rink, however, correctly notes that Robertson's… Read More