1854 Imray Blueback Chart Map (1 results)
- Map
Seller: Geographicus Rare Antique Maps, Brooklyn, NY, U.S.A.Geographicus Rare Antique Maps
Contact seller4-star sellerGood. Working nautical chart, exhibits pencil marks related to navigation, come cracking, overall toning, staining in corners. Original blue paper backing, brown linen edging. Size 26.5 x 40 Inches. This stunning blueback nautical chart or map of Cuba, issued by James Imray in 1854, has all of the hallmarks of a working shipboar…d chart and a life at sea. Centered on Cuba, the map covers from Key West (Florida) to Grand Cayman, and from Cape Antonio (Cuba) to the Inagua Islands (Bahamas), coving all of Cuba, and parts of the southern Bahama Islands. Along the bottom of the map there are eight detail sub-maps, including, from left: Havana Harbor, Bahia Honda, Port Mariel, Port Guantanamo (Guantanamo Bay), Santiago de Cuba, Matanzas, Juaga or Zagua, and the Entrance of Puerto de la Nuevias. Some marks in pencil in the Old Bahama Channel or Santaren Channel (Bahamas) indicate navigation use. Soundings, particularly on the south coast of Cuba and throughout the Great Bahama Bank are in fathoms. Blueback Charts Blueback nautical charts began appearing in London in the late 18th century. Bluebacks, as they came to be called, were privately published large format nautical charts known for their distinctive blue paper backing. The backing, a commonly available blue manila paper traditionally used by publishers to warp unbound pamphlets, was adopted as a practical way to reinforce the low-quality paper used by private chart publishers in an effort to cut costs. The earliest known blueback charts include a 1760 chart issued by Mount and Page, and a 1787 chart issued by Robert Sayer. The tradition took off in the early 19th century, when British publishers like John Hamilton Moore, Robert Blachford, James Imray, William Heather, John William Norie, Charles Wilson, David Steel, R. H. Laurie, and John Hobbs, among others, rose to dominate the chart trade. Bluebacks became so popular that the convention was embraced by chartmakers outside of England, including Americans Edmund March Blunt and George Eldridge, as well as Scandinavian, French, German, Russian, and Spanish chartmakers. Blueback charts remained popular until the late 19th century, when government subsidized organizations like the British Admiralty Hydrographic Office and the United States Coast Survey, began issuing their own superior charts on high quality paper that did not require reinforcement. Publication History and Census Like many blueback charts, this map is extremely rare with the OCLC listing no other examples. This map is owned jointly by Geographicus and Vetus Carta Maps.
