ORIGINAL CIVIL WAR ATLAS PLATE NUMBER 1...CHARLESTON FORTS PHOTOS

Description

One complete, uncut, ORIGINAL Civil War Atlas sheet...18" by 29"...from the 1890's U.S. Government limited issue
ATLAS TO ACCOMPANY THE OFFICIAL RECORDS OF THE UNION AND CONFEDERATE ARMIES.
Plate number 1, probably the second most popular of all the 178 Official Atlas plates.
There are three magnificent wide shots of Charleston Harbor compiled on February 13th, 1861.
FORT MOULTRIE AS SEEN FROM FORT SUMTER
FORT JOHNSON AS SEEN FROM FORT SUMTER
MORRIS ISLAND AND CUMMINGS POINT AS SEEN FROM FORT SUMTER.
There is some age damage on this plate and please look at all of the photos I have included.  There is edge wear and small tears, a couple of small pin holes and a pretty rough lower left corner.  Despite this, the piece is fabulous and will frame beautifully.  I have owned it for decades and it is time to let it go.
I have sold other plates number 1, and the popularity absolutely shocked me.
Again...this is far from perfect condition, but it is what it is, and it is a gem.
THE OFFICIAL ATLAS, as it is called, represents the culmination of decades of research after The War, and was contributed to by the military leaders of The War, civil engineers and cartographers, and was intended to be THE companion to The OFFICIAL RECORDS OF THE CIVIL WAR.
The complete ATLASES were not available to the public, rather they were sent in a series of five sheets at a time, 178 sheets in total, to the three branches of government and to federal and state agencies and libraries.
When THE OFFICIAL ATLAS was printed, over 120 years ago, each large map sheet was folded once, neatly, left side over right and this plate has been preserved well,
and has retained its original sharp, bold, crisp character.  The map is immaculate. T
he plate has a complete  one inch border all the way around.
Please note, and this is important.  This is an ENTIRE Atlas map sheet.  It is NOT  part of a plate nor is it a cut piece, but it is a whole plate, as it was lithographed over a century ago.  I will never cut pieces from these rare antique map sheets and sell the smaller slips of paper separately.  Besides the obvious beauty and historic charm of these pieces, a very large part of their long term investment value is in their entirety.
.00 will cover your
fully insured Priority mailing
.
Map will be rolled carefully, packed extremely well into a rigid tube, and sent to you in a Priority mailer.
This is one exceptional piece!