1889 Imray Nautical Chart Map (1 results)
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Flemish Banks etc. Western Sheet. [Sheet 1.] / Flemish Banks etc. Eastern Sheet. [Sheet 2.]
1889 Imray Nautical Chart or Map of the Coast of Belgium, France, and Holland
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Seller: Geographicus Rare Antique Maps, Brooklyn, NY, U.S.A.Geographicus Rare Antique Maps
Contact seller4-star sellerGood. Blueback chart edged in cotton. Cotton edging covers titles. Some soiling. Closed edge tear professionally repaired on verso. Size 41 x 53 Inches. A detailed, large format 1890 blueback nautical map of the coast of Belgium, France, and Holland. A Closer Look The central chart depicts from Leyden to west of Calais and from…Covehithe in Suffolk to Antwerp. The Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta immediately draws the eye, with its multiple waterways illustrated, labeled, and filled with depth soundings and notes on navigational hazards. Coastal lights are noted in yellow and red manuscript throughout the delta, as are cities and towns. The railway from Flushing to Rotterdam appears. Away from the delta, depth soundings fill the North Sea and the Strait of Dover. The canals in France and Belgium between Ostende and Calais are illustrated. A large inset situated in the bottom right focuses on the French coast from Dunkerque to Gravelines. A second, much smaller inset appears in the upper right detailing the entrance to the Hook of Holland Canal, opened in 1872 to ensure sea access to the port of Rotterdam as the branches of the Rhine-Meuse delta silted up. 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 wrap unbound pamphlets, was adopted as a practical way to reinforce the low-quality paper used by private chart publishers trying 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 This chart was first published by James Imray in 1883 and subsequently updated several times, with the present edition bearing updates to 1890. This is the only known cataloged example of the present edition. However, we have located a catalog record at the Osher Map Library at the University of Southern Maine for a chart by James Imray from 1879 with a similar title.
