1794 Laurie & Whittle Large Very Rare Blueback Map Sea Chart of The Baltic Sea

Description

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A New Chart of the Baltic or East Sea Drawn Principally from the Maritime Surveys Collected in the Russian Neptune compared with the Observations of the most experienceed Pilots, and Chiefly with the Charts and Draughts of Professor Christian Charles Lous, Nils Mareluis and James Schmid Published by Authority at Copenhagen, Stockholm and St Petersburg...London Published by Laurie & Whittle No 53 Fleet Street as the Act, 12th May, 1794
Cartographer :
- Laurie and Whittle (active fl. 1794 - 1858)
Date:
- 1794
Size:
- 48in x 39in (1.225m x 1.015mm)
Ref#:
- 93046
Condition:
- (A) Very Good Condition
Description:
This is a very large, extremely rare, copper-plate engraved and highly detailed working Blueback Nautical Chart or Maritime map of the Baltic or East Sea was engraved in 1794 and published by the Laurie & Whittle firm, London 1794. The details for this map have been collected from expeditions by the ship the Russian Neptune and Professor Christian Charles Lous, Nils Mareluis and James Schmid.
This rare Blueback map, a method of mounting working sea charts that was begun by Robert Sayer in the late 18th century. These working maps were extremely expensive to buy and labour intensive to put together so only a limited number were published and sold and even fewer have survived. I have found no other examples of this map either commercially or in other map collections.
The map depicts the Baltic Sea from Scandia Sweden & Pomeranian, Germany in the west to the Baltic States of Estonia and Latvia (Eastland, Livonia, Courland) & southern Finland in the east. The map is highly detailed with numerous cities are labelled, including Copenhagen, Stockholm (Christiana), Gdansk (Dazing), Tallinn (Revel), and Riga. Myriad depth soundings are indicated in the Baltic Sea and along the coastlines. Numerous inset maps are included, the first of Copenhagen and the Straits, the second of Stockholm and directions through the various channels and islands, the third inset is Rogerwick Bay, the fourth is the Island of Gottland and the fifth of Riga and Bay. Copious notes about sailing directions, channels, entrance to the Duna River.
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 48in x 39in (1.225m x 1.015mm)
Plate size: - 48in x 39in (1.225m x 1.015mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - Soiling, chipping to edges not affecting the image
Plate area: - Soiling, light brown spots top of map, light creasing
Verso: - Original Blueback
Background:
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.
Laurie and Whittle (active fl. 1794 - 1858)
Robert Laurie (1755-1836) and James Whittle (1757-1818) formed a successful partnership of publishers in the late 18th century. Laurie was apprenticed to Robert Sayer in 1770 and was freed of his tenure 1777. He was a skilled artist, who exhibited at the Society of Artists from 1770, winning a silver palette for a drawing in 1770, and he was also an accomplished engraver of mezzotint portraits and produced views and other decorative items. In about 1792 he returned to the Sayer business and took it over from the ailing Sayer in 1794. James Whittle, who was apprenticed into the Needlemakers Company, was freed from his tenure in 1792 and joined with Laurie to complete the takeover of the Sayer business, in the same year.
The foundation of their business was the existing Sayer stock of printing plates, both for single maps, atlases and also decorative prints. They continued to add new material and to freshen up the atlases, as well as separately-published maps on topical issues, notably events during the Napoleonic Wars.
Laurie retired in 1812. His son Richard Holmes Laurie replaced him in the partnership and, eventually, took over the firm after Whittles death in 1818. Under the influence of Richard Laurie, the partnership became noted as chart-makers and publishers. After Lauries death the publishing house and its printing stock came under control of Alexander George Findlay, who had long been associated with Laurie and Whittle. Since, Laurie and Whittle has passed through numerous permeations, with part of the firm still extant as an English publisher of maritime or nautical charts, Imray, Laurie, Norie and Wilson Ltd. The firm remains the oldest surviving chart publisher in Europe.
Please note all items auctioned are genuine, we do not sell reproductions. A Certificate of Authenticity (COA) can be issued on request.
What is an Antique Map
The word Antique in the traditional sense refers to an item that is more than a hundred years old. In the past maps were sold in two forms, as a single sheet (broadsheet) or bound in an atlas or book. The majority of antique maps for sale today come from books or atlases and have survived due to the protection offered by the hardback covers.
When considering a purchase
The first thing to determine when staring a collection or purchasing an item, is what is important to you. Most collectors prefer to build their collections around a theme. You may decide to collect maps from one region or country, charting its development through time. Similarly you could collect maps of one particular period in time, by type (i.e. sea or celestial charts) or by cartographer. The collector might also want to consider the theme of cartographical misconceptions such as California as an island or Australia as Terra Australis or the Great Southern Land.
The subject is so wide that any would-be-collector has almost endless possibilities to find his own little niche within the field, and thereby build a rewarding collection.
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About US
Classical Images was founded 1998 and has built an excellent reputation for supplying high quality original antiquarian maps, historical atlases, antique books and prints. We carry an extensive inventory of antiquarian collectibles from the 15th to 19th century. Our collection typically includes rare books and decorative antique maps and prints by renowned cartographers, authors and engravers. Specific items not listed may be sourced on request.
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