Report Upon the Removal of Blossom Rock, in San Francisco Harbor, California

Washington: Government Printing Office, 1871 Book. Fine. Hardcover. First edition. Quarto. 11½ x 9 inches. 40pp. plus 11 plates (one folding, one in color). Lithographic title page with vignette. Publisher's original blind-ruled dark green cloth, gilt-lettered title to front cover. Expertly rebacked to match, corners lightly refurbished. Endpapers renewed. Complete and clean. The complete official report, with precise engineering drawings, of the removal of this major obstacle. Blossom rock was a huge chunk of sandstone, located just five feet below the surface of the Bay between Alcatraz and Yerba Buena Islands and was a considerable peril to shipping. The rock was discovered and named by Captain Beechey in 1826. The plates are beautifully drawn, quite detailed and include a folding map of the entrance to San Francisco Bay showing the position of Blossom Rock, various depths throughout the bay, etc. (from a Coast Survey Chart of 1859). Another map (colored) is "Map showing the Depth of Water on Blossom Rock as established by Survey of April 1871." Also included are numerous detailed engineering drawings, plans and sketches for the destruction of the rock, placement of the black-powder charges, etc. Delicately hand-colored. [Cowan: p.688; Rocq: 12846]..