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1897 Bureau of the American Republics Map of the Hawaiian Islands
HawaiianIslands-americanrepublics-1897$500.00
Title
North Pacific Ocean. the Hawaiian Islands.
1897 (undated) 15.75 x 22.5 in (40.005 x 57.15 cm) 1 : 940000
1897 (undated) 15.75 x 22.5 in (40.005 x 57.15 cm) 1 : 940000
Description
This is an 1897 Bureau of the American Republics map of the Hawaiian Islands published in August 1897, less than a year before the United States annexed Hawaii in July 1898.
A Closer Look
The major Hawaiian Islands are illustrated, with coastal locations marked, including points, bays, and harbors. Honolulu and Hilo are labeled, as are the Pearl Lochs (which would become Pearl Harbor). The Hawaiian volcanoes Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Kīlauea are identified. A distance table occupies the upper right, and a table in the lower left details imports and exports for 1896.The Bureau of the American Republics
The Bureau of the American Republics, also known as the Commercial Bureau of the American Republics, was founded on April 14, 1890, as part of the First International Conference of American States convened in Washington, D.C. Eighteen Western Hemisphere nations took part, including the United States. The Bureau was part of an effort to create a regional organization among American nations. The organization was renamed the International Commercial Bureau in 1901-1902. Today, it is known as the Organization of American States.Publication History and Census
This map was created for and published by the Bureau of the American Republics in August 1897 Hawaii. Handbook No. 85. It is a reduced version of a nautical chart of the Hawaiian Islands created in 1893 by the U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office. We do not see any market history for separate examples of the present map, and the complete handbook is rare on the market, though well-represented in institutional collections.Cartographer
United States Hydrographic Office (1866 - 1962) was a brach of he U.S. Navy that prepared and published maps, charts, and nautical books to aid in navigation. Before the establishment of the Hydrographic Office in 1866, U.S. navigators were almost entirely dependent on British charts. There had been a few private enterprises that had prepared and published charts, but none had been able to do so profitably. The Office was established 'for the improvement of the means of navigating safely the vessels of the Navy and of the mercantile marine, by providing, under the authority of the Secretary of the Navy, accurate and cheap nautical charts, sailing directions, navigators, and manuals of instructions for the use of all vessels of the United States, and for the benefit and use of navigators generally.' This way the Navy Department could furnish navy and merchant ships with charts illustrating the results of surveys and explorations undertaken by naval officers. The charts were priced to cover the cost of paper and printing alone, not preparation. Its main objective was to survey foreign coasts, as the Coast and Geodetic Surveys were responsible for surveying domestic waters. The Hydrographic Office was transferred from the Department of the Navy to the Department of Defense in 1949 and was replaced by the Naval Oceanographic Office in 1962. More by this mapmaker...
Source
Hawaii. Handbook No. 85, (Washington D.C.: Bureau of American Republics) August 1897.
Condition
Very good. Light wear along original fold lines. Closed tear at insertion point professionally repaired on verso. Close right margin.
References
cf. New York Public Library Map Div. 18-713.