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1842 Horsburgh Nautical Chart or Map of Singapore, Boroeo, Malay and Cambodia

SingaporeChinaSea1-horsburgh-1842
$2,000.00
China Sea Sheet 1.  To Capt. D. Ross and His Assistants Lieut. P. Maugham, J. Crawford, and J. Houghton, of the Bombay Marine; Who under the auspices of the Honble East India Company, having performed with Arduous Zeal a difficult and dangerous Exploration of the China Sea, so Essential to the safety of Navigation, This Chart Although with an extension of Limits being Chiefly Construction from Their Valuable Surveys, is now Inscribed as a Tribute due to Those Laudable Exertions By their Sincerely Obliged Friend, James Horsburgh. - Main View
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1842 Horsburgh Nautical Chart or Map of Singapore, Boroeo, Malay and Cambodia

SingaporeChinaSea1-horsburgh-1842

Extremely scarce early nautical chart of the East Indies and Singapore.

Title


China Sea Sheet 1. To Capt. D. Ross and His Assistants Lieut. P. Maugham, J. Crawford, and J. Houghton, of the Bombay Marine; Who under the auspices of the Honble East India Company, having performed with Arduous Zeal a difficult and dangerous Exploration of the China Sea, so Essential to the safety of Navigation, This Chart Although with an extension of Limits being Chiefly Construction from Their Valuable Surveys, is now Inscribed as a Tribute due to Those Laudable Exertions By their Sincerely Obliged Friend, James Horsburgh.
  1842 (dated)     27 x 39.75 in (68.58 x 100.965 cm)

Description


An extremely scarce 1842 James Horsburgh nautical chart of parts of the east Indies and Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Malay, Borneo and Cambodia. Centered on northern Borneo, this chart covers from Malay and Singapore to the Celebes and from the Gulf of Siam to the eastern top of Sumatra. There are numerous coastal profile views within Cambodia, Malay, and Borneo. The map features countless depth soundings in fathoms as well as a number of unfathomable sailing instructions, such as 'Best Route to China for Leaky Crazy Ships,' as well as more practical routes for various seasons. This map identifies both the island and city of Singapore. This chart was originally published by Horsburgh in 1821 though the present example bears updates to 1842. All Horsburgh charts are extremely scarce and this is among the rarest and most valuable of the group.

Cartographer


James Horsburgh (September 28, 1762 – May 14, 1836) was a Scottish hydrographer and navigator active in the late 18th and early 19th century. Horsburgh was born in Fife, Elie, Scotland, to a humble family. Like many young Scottish men of little means, Horsburgh was destined for a sea-faring life and at just 16 signed on as a cabin boy in a coal trading ship. After many misadventures, including a brief incarceration by the French at Dunkirk, Horsburgh made his way to the West Indies and eventually to Calcutta, India. As the center for British maritime trade in the region, Horsburgh had no difficulty finding work with the British East India Company who maintained an active trade network between India and China. Despite the regular trade, one these voyages to China, aboard the ironically named Atlas, taught Horsburgh just how poorly the East Indies were charted. The 1786 shipwreck of the Atlas, on which he was the First Mate, near Diego Garcia Island proved a pivotal moment Horsburgh's life. He subsequently devoted himself to accurately charting the Indian Ocean and the dangerous Straits of Malacca, Sunda, and Singapore. Many of Horsburgh's charts are the direct results of his own unique survey work on board the Carron and later as captain of the Anna. Horsburgh's work culminated in the publication if his 1809 Directions for Sailing to and from the East Indies, China, New Holland, Cape of Good Hope, and the Interjacent Ports, a monumentally important guide to navigating the waters of the Indian Ocean and the East Indies. His work earned him friendships in London's highest naval and scientific circles, among them Joseph Banks and Alexander Dalrymple. He became a member of the Royal Society in 1806, when he retired from active sailing. When Alexander Dalrymple died in 1810, Horsburgh was appointed to the prestigious position of Hydrographer to the British East India Company where he worked until his death in 1836. Whereas Dalrymple was somewhat indiscriminate regarding the charts he published, Horsburgh was exacting and double checked the veracity of each and every chart that passed through his office. Horsburgh's work with the East India Company elevated the standards of the Hydrographic Department and earned him a Fellowship with the Royal Society. Today's Horsburgh's accomplishments are memorialized by the Horsburgh Lighthouse, near Singapore, and Horsburgh Island. When Horsburgh died most of his work was passed by his children to the Admiralty, which continued to publish updates until roughly 1864. More by this mapmaker...

Condition


Very good. Some minor discolorations in the upper left quadrant. There are also a few minor pencil markings associated with navigational use - can be removed but we felt they added character. Silk edging.