Map/Chart > New York

New York, East River & Long Island Sound Limited Edition

A hand coloured and drawn limited edition of 25 prints. Taken from J. F. W. Des Barres' 1776 chart with art work by Tessa Land-Smith

Chart Information
Reference:	A208a
Date	1776
Hydrographer/Surveyor/Artist:	J.F.W. DesBarres & Tessa Land-Smith
Size Of Original:	w 32.5" x h 22"
Paper Type	German Hahnemuhle Etching Paper 310gms

Further Information

Chart ID	Size	Dimensions	Price
A208a	Original	w46" x h31"	$195

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Read the full Chart History here: 

This is a Limited Edition of 5 prints by English portrait artist Tessa Land-Smith. 

The chart which provides the basis for this beautiful art-work is J. F. W. Des Barres unfinished survey of New York, North River, East River with passage through Hell Gate, Flushing Bay, Hampstead Bay, Oyster Bay, Huntington Bay, Cow Harbour, East Chester Inlet, Rochelle, Rye, Patrick Islands, & beyond. The chart was originally published in 1776 for inclusion in the Atlantic Neptune.

Tessa land-Smith's charming water colour illustration depicts the chart as it may have lain upon the table of the British High Command, based in Newtown, Long Island, while they planned the British attack on George Washington's bedraggled Revolutionary forces.

Passage through the treacherous upper passage of the East River and safe anchorage was paramount to control or the region.  The fact that the chart appears to have been left unfinished (even the subsequent editions are only finished further by adding some colour, increasing the shading, trimming an inch or so off the top and sides and adjusting the boarder), is indicative of the pressure Des Barres and other hydrographers and surveyors were under from the Army and in particular the Navy to produce up to date information.  It is worth noting the label 'Frog Point', also known as 'Throg's neck', was the point on 12th October 1776 where Admiral Lord Howe, having already navigated 150 ships through the treacherous 'Hell's Gate' in a display of masterful navigation, chose to disembark 4,000 troops under General Henry Clinton in an effort to out-flank Washington in his retreat from New York.  It proved to be nearly fatal as the point of land proved to be little more than an island connected to the mainland only at low tide.  A small detachment of American riflemen held the British up for 4 days and eventually forced Howe to re-embark and move further up river to Pell's Point (see Heritage Chart A204).  The episode alerted the American commander-in-chief, George Washington, who wrote at the time that the British were up to 'their former scheme of getting to our rear', and accordingly moved to abandon his Harlem Heights bastion and move on up towards White Plains. This is a second state of this published chart which although apparently very simple bears an enormous amount of significance for the British between 1776 and 1778 during which time it was drawn.  Comparison with the Des Barres chart 'Oyster & Huntington Bay, Long Island Sound with inset of Hell's Gate' (see Heritage Chart A207) shows that both charts share a great deal of the same information and it is entirely possible that parts of this survey were used in the making of the latter.