1849 Imray Nautical Map of California Coast - Gold Rush!

The 1849 first edition, published for the California Gold Rush, of the James Imray blueback nautical map of the coast of California. This map, by Imray, predates any American charts of the California coast and, when it was issued, was the best obtainable chart for ambitious 49ers en route to the gold regions.

A Closer Look

Oriented to the west, coverage embraces the California coast from roughly Cape Corrientes in Mexico north to Trinidad Bay, California, including all of Baja and the Gulf of California. Insets detail San Francisco Bay, Monterey, Magdalen Bay, Mazatlan, Guaymas, and the entrance to San Francisco Harbor (Golden Gate). On the peninsula, the Mission de San Francisco and the fortifications at the Presidio are noted, but no further settlement or construction is evident. Moreover, while this map does not delineate the Gold Regions, it does show the Sacramento River outlet into San Pablo Bay, the water route which many fortune-seekers followed to the gold fields.

As a working nautical chart, this map includes pencil annotations related to at least two voyages, one from Mexico to San Francisco - likely a Gold Rush Run, and another that heads out to sea. There is some manuscript labeling, but it is mostly unreadable. It also, curiously, includes a correction regarding the location of Socorro Island.

The California Gold Rush

The discovery of gold at John Sutter's mill by James Wilson Marshall (1810 - 1885) in January of 1848 was one of the most definitive moments in American history. Coming at the end of the Mexican-American War (1846 - 1848), the timing of the discovery could not have been more propitious. The combination of new seemly unlimited territory and the lure of gold led to a stampede of adventurers, prospectors, merchants, and homesteaders eager for a new life on the frontier. The Gold Rush was not limited to Americans crossing the Great Plains. European, Australian, and even Chinese immigrants rushed into California hungry for their part of the great strike. This Great Migration transformed the United States in the span of just a few years from a former colony into an expansive transcontinental nation on the cusp of becoming a world power.

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 in an effort to cut costs. That being said, not all blueback charts are literally backed with blue paper. 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 James Imray in 1849. It is the first edition, almost certainly compiled in a hurry to serve interest in the California Gold Rush. It is, of note 'Chart No. 8', referring to the final installment of Imray's series on the west coast of America. Subsequent editions followed in 1851, 1853, 1854, and 1862. We note an example of the 1849 edition at the New York Public Library, UC Berkeley, Yale, and UC Santa Cruz.