[Americana] [Brooklyn] Lott, Jeremiah. Plan of Wharf at Brooklyn

(Brooklyn, New York), May 5, 1806. One sheet, 8 x 13 1/2 in. (203 x 343 mm). Hand-colored manuscript lot map drawn and signed by Jeremiah Lott, captioned "A Map of Clarkson's and Depeyster's Lot and Dock situated in the Town of Brooklyn in the County of Kings, protracted according to the magnetic meridian by a Scale of 30 feet to an inch the 5th day of May 1806." Manuscript compass rose at top right. Docketing on verso "Recd. New York 10th May 1806 of Justin & J.C. Foote Four 50/100 Dollars in full for surveying & plotting the within wharf & lot - Jeremiah Lott." Also docketed on verso with title "Plan of Wharf at Brooklyn." Creasing from old folds, two large dampstains affecting text and map, bottom margin worn with some loss; scattered foxing.

Rare and original hand-drawn map by early New York surveyor Jeremiah Lott (1776-1861), described by historian Henry R. Stiles as "...then the leading, if not the only surveyor in Kings County..." (History of the City of Brooklyn, p. 55). Originally from Flatbush, Lott's work in the region that would become Brooklyn was pivotal to its greater development.

Although sparsely populated during the Post-Revolutionary period, Brooklyn in the early 19th century was about to undergo a phase of dramatic change and urbanization. In 1814, American inventor Robert Fulton's steamboat company began a regularly scheduled service across the East River at Fulton's Ferry. The amount of merchants and landowners in the area increased exponentially, and the village was first incorporated by charter in 1816. Jeremiah Lott was commissioned by the fledgling municipal government shortly afterwards to draw his important "First Village Map" based on his earlier survey work such as this example.

Rare. We are able to locate only one other manuscript map by Jeremiah Lott in the available auction record.

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1600 W. Girard Avenue, Philadelphia. Please contact the Auction Specialist for details.

Darren Winston, Senior Vice President at Freeman’s, has served as Head of Department for Books & Manuscripts, Philadelphia, since 2018. He has been a trustee of the Rosenbach Museum and Library since 2022, is a member of The Manuscript Society, The Bibliographical Society of America, and Philadelphia’s Philobiblon Club.

Raised in northern New Jersey, Darren moved to New York City in 1988 and began his career there as a bookseller in 1995. He spent the next 18 years selling to private clients and at East Coast book fairs. In 2003 he moved with his young family to Sharon, Connecticut where, in 2009, he opened his own bookshop. Darren Winston, Bookseller offered rare and vintage books, prints, fine art, and more, and hosted over 50 book signings and art shows. He was a trustee and, later, Board President, of the Sharon Historical Society, and for six years a trustee of Indian Mountain School in Lakeville, Connecticut.

Darren has hosted the radio program "Darren Winston's Book Report" for NPR-affiliate WHDD since 2009, appeared in the 2014 book-themed documentary The Paper Trail, and in 2024 he joined Antiques Roadshow as a books and manuscripts appraiser. From 1999 to 2005, Darren was the buyer and consultant to the Fine and Rare Books Department at Asprey, the British luxury goods company, at its New York headquarters. While there he spearheaded various in-store events including readings by Salman Rushdie and Dominick Dunne.

In 1993, Darren was hired as a Creative Consultant to Columbia Records, where he assisted in the repackaging of their 12-record Aerosmith back catalogue. He later sold his extensive collection of Aerosmith memorabilia, which he began amassing at the age of 14, directly to the band.

Darren now lives on the Main Line, outside Philadelphia, with his wife, two children, and dog. The family travels frequently to his wife's native England and Scotland. When not bookselling, he plays guitar in Pumped, an Aerosmith tribute band. Darren also appears on the top-rated PBS television program Antiques Roadshow.

Fine Printed Books & Manuscripts, Including Americana

[Americana] [Brooklyn] Lott, Jeremiah. Plan of Wharf at Brooklyn

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