1861 Blunt Blueback Nautical Chart or Map of Florida, Carolina, Virginia, and Cuba

A massive four panel 1861 Edmund Blunt blueback nautical chart or maritime map covering the southeastern coast of the United States from the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay to Florida and Cuba, including Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia coasts. This highly detailed chart is a fine example of Blunt's work offering limited inland detail but a wealth of nautical information including countless depth soundings, light houses, shore lines, river soundings, shipping lanes, and other practical information for the mariner. Although mostly focused on the southeastern United States, the leftmost map or southern sheet, extends to cover Cuba and offers an excellent inset of Havana.

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

The two left panels are dated and bear the E. and G.W. Blunt imprint.