1838 Norie Blueback Chart / Map of the English Channel and South England

This is a large 1838 John William Norie blueback nautical chart or maritime map of the English Channel. The map depicts the region from just west of Ireland to the North Sea and from England, Wales, and Ireland to northern France. This chart has all of the atmospheric hallmarks of a working nautical chart and a life at sea. Myriad depth soundings are included throughout, including along the coast of St. George's Channel and in Bristol Channel. Numerous soundings are indicated in the Thames Estuary, and the Thames is illustrated all the way to London. Locations along the English, Welsh, Irish, and French coasts are labeled, including Cork, Cardiff, Bristol, Lands' End, Southampton, and Brighton. The Isle of Wight is labeled. Inset maps along the top border include Mounts Bay, Land's End, Spithead and Portsmouth, Portland, New Haven, and the Isle of Sheppy. Along the right and bottom borders, inset maps detail Exmouth Bar, the Scilly Isles, and Dartmouth Harbor. Several coastal views are also illustrated, including Lizard, Portland, Berry Head, Start Point, Bembridge Point, Beachy Head, Looe Island, the Needle Rocks, and the Scilly Islands. Manuscript red and yellow notations note the location of lighthouses along the English coast. Several lighthouses are illustrated in profile.

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

This map was published by John William Norie in 1838. All examples are rare. This map is owned jointly by Geographicus and Vetus Carta Maps.