Offered Here:

The 1851 Instructions to the Surveyor General of Oregon;

The 1851 Oregon Instructions are incredibly rare.   In his 40 years of collecting surveying books, my Dad (Bud Uzes), never came across a copy of either book.  I'm aware of only one other copy of the 1851 Instructions (there could be more), and that book apparently lacks a title page and the last few pages of the book.

Oregon played a key role in developing the governing rules for surveying public lands in the United States.  Knowing the problems that magnetic compasses would have in Oregon, in 1850 the Oregon Surveyor General insisted that the main lines in Oregon be surveyed using Burt Solar Compasses.  The Oregon Surveyor General (Preston) reached out to William A Burt, and asked Burt to come to Oregon and survey the main lines himself. Burt couldn't, but recommended several of his associates for the job, stating that they all had Solar Compasses of their own.  The Oregon Surveyor General retained those recommended by Burt, and off to Oregon they went.  

In March 1851, John Moore, the Principal Clerk of the GLO, hurriedly drafted the Oregon Survey Instructions, which for the first time required the use of a Burt Solar Compass in the survey of public lands (when a magnetic needle could not be relied upon).  The Commissioner of the GLO sent copies of the 1851 Oregon instructions to several Surveyor Generals of other states, asking them to conform their approach to the Oregon rules.

In 1855 John Moore drafted a more comprehensive set of Survey Instructions based on the 1851 Oregon Instructions but expanded on them somewhat, stating:

"[The 1855 Instruction] is a revision of the Manual of Surveying Instructions prepared for Oregon in 1851 (the edition which is now exhausted,) and presents, in some respects, more copious illustrations, both in the specimen field notes and in the diagrams, than could be furnished amidst the pressures of the exigency under which the former had to be prepared."

The 1855 Instructions applied to all the Surveyors General, and were therefore the GLO's first universally applicable set of rules. Nevertheless, it's fair to say that the 1851 Oregon Instructions were the starting point for all public land surveys that occurred in the United States after 1850.

Condition of the Book:

The 1851 Oregon Instruction books were delicate paper bound books when issued, which partly explains why so few have survived.  The binding of this book is shot.  The book is held together by a latter added circular ring attachment - the pages would fly away otherwise.  The circular ring attachment is solid, and makes the book readable. The pages are all present and in pretty nice shape.

Price: SOLD
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