Beschreibung:

Adams, Sebastian, "Synchronizer." A Chronological Chart of Ancient, Modern and Biblical History, Synchronized by Sebastian C. Adams Salem, Oregon. Cincinnati, OH: Strobridge & Co. Lithographers, 1871. Not labeled as a later edition, thus presumed to be a first. Rare in any early edition. A wonderful example of 19th century color lithography by one of the nation's premier printers of the time. This map was issued in two forms: as a scroll on two rollers, mounted in a frame so only a couple feet at a time were exhibited within the frame; and as a fan-folded linen-backed map, dissected at the folds. Often these were displayed along a wall (or couple of walls) by unfolding them in a continuous line. This form is easier to handle than the rolls, even though it is the same map. On this map Adams has tried to merge Biblical and "modern" history with the Archbishop Ussher's timeline. "The object of this chart is to assist the mind in clearly fixing, along down the stream of time, the time when the events of the world's history took place. The time when (i.e. Chronology) and the place where (i.e. Geography) 'are the two great eyes of history.'" Across the top at the beginning we find the genealogy created by Ussher to calculate his 4004 BC time of creation. He then depicts the time when many books of the Bible took place, such as Leviticus, Exodus, Judges. He marks the end of the Old Testament at 397BC. The central section traces history, beginning with the "Stone Age" (with the example of Denmark), the advent of pictorial, then alphabetic language, the Iron Age with early Navigators, early Spinning and Weaving and the first glimmerings of agriculture. The History after the dispersal of Noah's family takes most of the rest of the central chart. There are small vignettes throughout with notable events, such as the discovery of the Rosetta Stone and Moabite Stone. A block labeled "Ethnology" depicts the Five Races of man. He illustrates many Biblical events, such as the Tower of Babel, the crucifixion of Jesus, and more. The map of the world at the beginning only highlights areas of Europe (mostly Western) and the Middle East. Africa, and most of Asia (China, Siberia, Russia, most of India) are "black holes." And the Western Hemisphere is not even illustrated. The end of the chart has some vignettes that seem to give a nod to the New World. There are a few notable presidents (Washington, Lincoln, Grant), along with flags and other patriotic symbols. Three ships represent Columbus' voyages. The Westward migration is shown by a Conestoga wagon. There are also "old" ways of doing things, such as spinning and farming, with the implication that we were now (especially in America) in the "modern" or "industrial" age. Sebastian C. Adams (1825-1898) was born in Ohio in 1825 and moved as a child to Galesburg, Illinois. In 1850 he made the trek West, heading for California. He ended up in Oregon, nearly dead from starvation. In both Eastern and Western homes, Adams was known as a gifted teacher. He was continually exploring new ways to present information for the benefit of interested students. Clearly this chart was a highlight of that teaching impulse. A respected citizen of Salem (OR), Adams died of influenza just before the turn of the new century. Condition: There is a bit of chipping where paper is releasing from linen near the folds. Most of the damage is near the end of the chart, but does not seriously detract. One short tear of the linen at the last outer fold. This form of map actually benefits by not being as heavily varnished as the one mounted on the rollers. One commonly finds that the old varnish has yellowed and chemically damaged the paper. This map does not suffer from that problem because it only has a light semi-glossy coating. Front board has detached from the map. Spine separated. Boards overall rough, but they have served their purpose to protect the map.