Maury's Wind and Current Chart Series A, Indian Ocean No. 4.

Publication date: 1854

  • Softcover
  • Map
  • Used
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Seller: Geographicus Rare Antique Maps, Brooklyn, NY, U.S.A.Geographicus Rare Antique Maps

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Softcover

Condition: Used

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Item description from seller

Very good. Toning along centerfold. Dampstaining at right, most noticeable at bottom-right corner. Creasing at top and bottom margin. Size 35 x 24 Inches. A colorful and remarkably detailed 1854 nautical map or chart of the eastern coast of Africa, from Kenya to South Africa. It was produced by Matthew Fontaine Maury, the greatest American hydrographer of his time, and like all of his wind and current charts is a marvel of infographic mapping. A Closer Look Characteristic of Maury's charts, exhaustive efforts are made to record the nature and intensity of winds and currents encountered by American and other nations' vessels that passed through these waters in the months before the chart's publication. Ships' routes fall into one of two categories: those skirting past Madagascar straight on to the Cape of Good Hope and those which sailed between Madagascar and the East African coast, in some cases in order to stop at ports, especially Zanzibar. Coastal hazards, degrees of magnetic variation, shoals (including those considered 'doubtful'), and even the temperature of waters are also indicated, as explained at left. Distinctive colorful lines denote the seasons in which vessels traveled. A thick black line tracks distances to Java Head (Tanjung Layar), a major navigational landmark at the western end of Java, confirming that most ships plying these waters were destined for or originating from the East Indies and beyond, most likely China. Maury on the Wind and Current Chart Series This chart was part of Maury's influential Wind and Current Chart Series. Maury explained the series in the introduction to the 1855 edition of his book The Physical Geography of the Sea , The primary object of the Wind and Current Charts, out of which has grown the Treatise on the Physical Geography of the Sea , was to collect the experience of every navigator as to the winds and currents of the ocean, to discuss his observations upon them, and then to present the world with the results on charts for the improvement of navigation. Accordingly, when this object was made known, an appeal was addressed to the mariners, there was a flight up into the garrets, and a ransacking of time-honored sea-chests in all the maritime communities of the country for old log-books and journals. It was supposed that the records therein contained as to the wind and weather, the sea and its currents, would afford information requisite for such an undertaking. By putting down on a chart the tracks of many vessels on the same voyage but at different times, in different years, during all seasons, and by projecting along each track the winds and currents daily encountered, it was plain that the navigator hereafter, by consulting this chart, would have for a guide the results of the combined experience of all those whose tracks were thus pointed out. Creating the Charts After Maury became commander of the Depot of Charts and Instruments in July 1842, he was able to access the old logs of 'every voyage made by a commissioned ship in the Navy' which provided him with the necessary data to create his first charts. Not long after, Maury designed a data log and presented it to the Secretary of the Navy, who required all naval vessels to maintain these logs during every voyage. Since Maury's charts necessitated more data, he designed a much simpler chart than the one used by the Navy for use by merchantmen and convinced them to participate by offering free copies of his charts to any captain that provided data. Maury's influence, and that of the U.S. Naval Observatory and Hydrographical Office, became worldwide following the 1853 international conference on the ocean environment, where the major seafaring nations of the world adopted a log designed by Maury and 'agreed to cooperate in the collection of information for the betterment of navigation'. Maury, nonetheless, fell out of favor with Alexander Dallas Bache, head of the U.S. Coast Survey, in 1861 due to his Confederate sympathie.…

Seller Inventory # EastAfricaChart-maury-1854

Bibliographic details

Title
Maury's Wind and Current Chart Series A, Indian Ocean No. 4.
Author
1854 Maury Chart of East African Coast, Madagascar
Publication year
1854
Binding
Soft cover
Seller catalogs
AFRICA-MAPS

Geographicus Rare Antique Maps

Brooklyn, NY, U.S.A.

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Geographicus Rare Antique Maps was founded in New York, New York, by Kevin James Brown in 1999. We are specialist antiquarians dealing in historic maps from all over the world and in all price ranges. Our enthusiasm, passion, and devotion to scholarship is expressed in our meticulously researched descriptions, among the most detailed and comprehensive available anywhere, for each and every rare map that passes over our desk. This same devotion guides the relationships of honesty and trust we have fostered with our clients, whether through purchasing or selling a rare map, getting an appraisal, or simply calling to discuss antique maps in general. We are happy to assist you no matter whether you are an interior decorator, an institution, an experienced collector, or are just looking for a single antique map. Geographicus is a member of the ABAA (Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America), the ILAB (International League of Antiquarian Booksellers), the New York Map Society, the Washington Map Society, the IMCOS, and the Society for the History of Discoveries. While primarily an internet-based company, we are happy to meet with clients to show our antique maps by appointment at our New York City location.…

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