Oceana or Pacific Ocean. 70. (1848)

• Main Authors: Bourquin, Frederick; Mitchell, Samuel Augustus; Tanner, Henry S., Mitchell, Samuel Augustus; Tanner, Henry S.; Bourquin, Frederick
• Other Authors: Rumsey Collection
• Format: Map
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1848
• Subjects: Pacific; Oceana; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~35769~1200995; http://www.davidrumsey.com/rumsey/Size1/D0120/4578072.jpg

Lithographed. Relief shown with hachures. Inset shows Wilkes' discoveries along the coast of Antarctica. This is a unique copy of the Mitchell/Tanner Universal Atlas. Frederick Bourquin and his employer, Peter Duval, received a Third Premium Award from the Franklin Institute in November, 1848, for their achievement in transferring the Universal Atlas from copper plates to lithographic stones. The catalog of the exhibition lists it as "No. 52. Universal Atlas in folio, a most beautiful specimen of the art of transferring and lithographic printing, from the press of P.S. Duval, Philadelphia, transferred by Bourquin." This copy of the atlas was their submission to the Franklin Institute to be considered for the award. It is made up of sheets from the atlas, all uncolored, all oversized, and all taken from various editions of the atlas from 1846 to 1848 (one map is dated 1849, but we believe it was issued in late 1848). It appears that these sheets were offprints that remained in the lithographer's shop and that the atlas was made up from them. Atlas is bound in half leather marbled paper covered boards with leather label on the front reading "Atlas Transferred From Copper To And Printed From Stone By Frederick Bourquin." The atlas stayed with the Franklin Institute, each page having the Institute's stamp on it, and was eventually sold by the Institute in the mid twentieth century. There are several erasures of dates that are earlier than 1848 (perhaps an attempt to make the book seem up to date) and several erasures of Tanner's name (on the title page) to conform to the fact that in 1848 this was known as Mitchell's atlas. The map borders vary between the "Mitchell" and the "Tanner" borders. And the paper thickness and quality varies as well. These sheets may have been some of the first "pulls" of each map in the various 1846-48 editions. This is a fascinating compilation and throws light on the transition in printing from copper plate to lithographic stone. Ristow p. 311 (award actually received in 1848).