Background:
The New York System of Geology
Hall’s map can be regarded as a landmark work as it was one of the earliest known maps to employ the New York System, of stratigraphic nomenclature developed by Hall and others at the New York Geological Survey. The system emphasized the importance of paleontology for delineating geological units and introduced the concept of type locality, a primary reference location used for defining the characteristics of geological formations. This map is the first regional application of the system, which evolved into the standard nomenclature used today for North America and much of the rest of the world.

Hall, James 1811 - 1898
Hall was an American paleontologist and geologist. Born in Hingham, Massachusetts, Hall was the oldest of four children born to James Hall Sr. and Sousanna Dourdain Hall, who had emigrated from England two years earlier. Hall attended the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, from which he graduated with honors in 1832 and he received a masters degree from the same institution the following year. After completing his masters degree, Hall stayed at Rensselaer and taught chemistry and later geology. In 1836, Hall was appointed to the team working on a geological and natural history of New York. That first year he was assigned as Ebenezer Emmonss assistant, for who he studied iron deposits in the Adirondack Mountains. The following year, after the survey was reorganized, Hall was put in charge of the Fourth District, in western New York. After completing the survey in 1841, Hall was named the first state paleontologist of New York. Hall published the findings of the survey in 1843 as Geology of New York Part IV. This work received much acclaim and became a classic in the field. Thanks to this success, Hall had established a solid reputation and spent the rest of his life studying stratigraphic geology and invertebrate paleontology. Hall constructed a laboratory in Albany, New York, which quickly became an important institution for aspiring geologists and paleontologists to study and train. Today, this laboratory is known as the James Hall Office and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976. Following the survey of New York, Hall participated in a geological survey of northern Michigan and Wisconsin in 1850, and served as state geologist for Iowa from 1855 until 1858 and for Wisconsin from 1857 until 1860. In 1866, Hall was appointed the director of the New York State Museum of Natural History in Albany, and was appointed State Geologist of New York in 1893. Hall was a founding member of the National Academy of Sciences and served as the first president of the Geological Society of America. In 1838, Hall married Sarah Aikin, with whom he had two daughters and two sons. Sarah passed away in 1895.

Endicott and Company (fl. c. 1828 - 1891) was a New York based family run lithography firm that flourished throughout the 19th century. The firm was founded by George and William Endicott, brothers who were born in Canton, Massachusetts. George Endicott (June 14, 1802 - 1848) trained as a lithographer under Pendleton Lithography from January of 1826. He later worked as superintendent of Senefelder Company until the summer of 1828. Afterwards, in 1830, he relocated to Baltimore and partnered with Moses Swett. Endicott and Swett relocated to New York City in December of 1831. They remained partners until July of 1834 when the relationship dissolved. George set up shop on his own account at 359 Broadway. William Endicott (1815 - 1851), Georges younger brother of 14 years, joined the firm in 1840 and was made a partner in 1845, after which the name of the firm was changed to G. and W. Endicott. George Endicott died shortly afterward, in 1848, but William continued operating the firm as William Endicott and Co. until his own 1851 death at just 35 years. The firm was carried on by his widow Sara Munroe Endicott until it was taken over by her son, Francis Endicott, who ran the firm from 1852 to 1886. George Endicott, Jr. subsequently ran the firm from 1887 to 1891. Peters, in his important work on American lithography America on Stone writes it is hard to summarize the Endicotts. They did everything and did it well . . . [they] worked with and for Currier and Ives, yet in spite of all that much of their work lacks real individuality. The Endicott firm was responsible for many 19th century views and plans of New York City and state as well as plans of Sacramento, California, and the Midwest.