LOWER-DELMARVA-ROOTS-L Archives

From: "Mike Hitch" <>
Subject: RE: 1868 Beers Atlas of Delaware
Date: Mon, 8 Feb 1999 20:44:53 -0500

John:

That's very interesting that you have an original Beer's 1868 Maps of DE
Book. I have seen a reproduction/reprint in the Library in Salisbury. BTW,
the $10 your ancestor paid was indeed a lot of money back then. However,
the map books were usually done through a campaign of sponsorships. The $10
fee they paid was probably to be a sponsor of the project. See if their
name is listed under the sponsor names within the book. Thanks for your
help!

Mike Hitch

www.geocities.com/~mikehitch

-----Original Message-----
From:John McCarter [mailto:]
Sent:Monday, February 08, 1999 10:42 AM
To:
Subject:1868 Beers Atlas of Delaware

Seems there's been some interest about subject atlas, thought some info
about it might be appropriate.
The physical dimensions are about 14-1/2" wide by 16-1/4" high and perhaps
3/4" thick, and contains 96 pages.
The cover label reads, "NEW TOPOGRAPHICAL ATLAS OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE"
The inside title page reads, "ATLAS OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE From actual
Surveys by and under the direction of D.G.BEERS. Published by POMEROY &
BEERS 320 Chestnut Street Philadelphia 1868".
There are tables of distances, statistics, areas, post offices, a map of
the state, etc. Generally the pages may contain towns or Delaware Hundreds,
each hundred further divided into districts. Each district is of a
different pastel color.
All areas outside of towns are covered with dots the size of perhaps a
large period. Each of these dots, signifying a house or farm, has one name
beside it; presumably the owner, taxpayer, resident or some such person.
Our family values this atlas highly and I am reluctant to handle it much.
I remember looking through it in my parent's attic as a child some 60 years
ago with fascination.
The atlas was purchased new by an ancestor on Dec. 23, 1867. We have the
original receipt (tucked between pages) for $10.00, which was probably a
pile of money back then!
Have no idea if this has ever been reprinted, or if originals are
available. Over the years I have seen individual pages mounted and plastic
covered suitable for framing in old book stores. The one that comes to mind
is a place about 50 minutes away which we visit a couple times per year,
namely Baldwins Book Barn. Their web page address is
http://www.bookbarn.com believe that's correct.
I hope this little writeup is helpful to someone,
John McCarter.

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This thread:

• 1868 Beers Atlas of Delaware by "John McCarter" <>

  • RE: 1868 Beers Atlas of Delaware by "Mike Hitch" <>