CHARLES DAVIES, Elements of Surveying, (New York, 1830), Printed and Published by J. & J. Harper.

Davies' Surveying was first published in book form in 1830. It was originally written as a series of lecture notes for use by the Cadets at West Point. At that time, the Military Academy was one of the foremost schools for mathematics in the country. For this reason the book was directed towards more-highly educated readers than were other works of the period.

The book's two introductory chapters on mathematics offer instruction in logarithms and plane trigonometry, but not geometry. The continuing chapters provide details about the principal surveying instruments then in use. These were the telescopic theodolite, compass, level, plain table, cross, and a number of computing and drafting scales. Practical instruction is also given in determining area, general surveying, topography and harbor surveying. Numerous working examples are included, with corresponding illustrations appearing in the rear on nine folded plates. The plates also have detailed engravings of the various instruments.

One of the examples in the 1830 text involves surveying a large tract of land using four different instruments. The theodolite is utilized for overall horizontal control, the compass and cross for fill-in work, and the plane table for adding topographic features. The book was so well received at the Academy that Davies rewrote the entire text to make it suitable for general distribution.

The revised work soon became the most popular American surveying book of the mid-19th century. Over the years there were a total of six different versions of the book with varying titles. These appeared in 1830, 1835, 1841, 1851, 1870, and 1883. In-between the different versions were numerous reprints of the edition then being published, with the last known reprint appearing in 1898. The 1835 revision both added and deleted material while retaining the same general format. The additions include a brief description of the public lands surveys. The illustrations were also revised and the number of plates reduced from nine to six. During 1835 and 1836, Davies had four other mathematical books published in addition to the one on surveying. Overwork from these writings brought on a bronchial condition that caused him to resign his professorship at the Academy in 1837. He then went to Europe, and following that he returned to other teaching jobs, the last at Columbia College.

The 1841 edition is titled Elements of Surveying and Navigation, and as the name implies it includes a chapter on navigation. This material was taken with permission from another author's book, otherwise the text remains much the same as the 1835 edition. The next version of Davies was published in 1851 with the same title. This edition was expanded to include a substantial section on geodesy and triangulation. It is surprising that there is still no reference to the surveyors transit instrument that was invented in 1831. The non-transiting theodolite remains the author's primary angle-measuring instrument.

The 1870 edition is the last version published by Davies and is retitled Elements of Surveying and Levelling. The book has newly added material relating to railroad curves, leveling for excavation and embankment, and mining engineering. This new material was contributed by other professors. The chapter on navigation no longer appears.

The 1883 and final version was published by J. Howard Van Amringe. He was a professor at Columbia College where Davies had his last teaching job. The title now uses only a single L in Leveling. This much revised work shows considerable effort on the part of Van Amringe. One of the changes is a new chapter on transit surveying. There are no longer any folding plates at the rear as illustrations are now conveniently located throughout the text. Appendices include descriptions of the solar compass, solar transit, sextant, and instructions to U.S. Mineral Surveyors. Unfortunately the improved Van Amringe edition appeared as other advanced books were emerging on the market. It was a noble effort, but too little too late.

Davies' Surveying was an advanced text for its time because it was written for more-highly educated students than were its contemporaries. For this reason it was also used as a reference book by many professional surveyors. Even the U.S. General Land Office copied information from Davies' text directly into its 1855 Manual of Surveying Instructions. The popularity of Davies' Surveying coincided with the country's westward expansion, and many a copy was to be found in remote surveying camps. Today they provide valuable insight to 19th century surveying practice, and serve as symbolic links to the pioneer surveyors of America.