Maps for Mariners

Map of the World Juan Vespucci
Seville, Spain, 1526
This is the earliest map to show the existence of the Chesapeake Bay, called "Baya de Santa Maria." Juan Vespucci was the royal pilot of Spain's hydrographic office and nephew of Amerigo Vespucci, after whom North and South America are named. The information on this map came from a 1525 voyage by Pedro de Quexos.

A New Chart of the Coast of America from Philadelphia to the Gulf of Florida [detail] William Heather
London, 1815
Huntingfield Corporation Map Collection, MSA SC 1399-1-457
This is one of four sheets that make up the complete chart. The harbor insets are new additions to this privately-produced British chart, a feature that reduced the number of charts required on a voyage. Note also that the direction and speed of the current flow are indicated, information first included on a 1799 chart by Heather's partner, William Norie. This is a "blueback" chart, so names because it is backed with heavy blue paper or linen for durability.

A New Chart of the Coast of North America from New York to Cape Hatteras Capt. N. Holland [probably Samuel Holland]
London, 1794
Huntingfield Corporation Map Collection, MSA SC 1399-1-38
Samuel Holland completed this chart one year before the British Hydrographic Office was formed in 1795. It illustrates a wealth of information essential to navigation: soundings, shoals, and bottom conditions. The shoreline profiles assisted piloting, or navigating within sight of landmarks. Mariners used this chart well into the nineteenth century.

Small-craft Chart, Series 101: Potomac River U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey
Washington, DC, 1959
Huntingfield Corporation Map Collection, MSA SC 1399-1-761
This was the first small craft chart produced by the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey. It contains the kind of information skipper of recreational small craft need: the location of various services, photographs of port entrances, and tide and current information. This small book was designed for use on boats where larger charts were impractical.

A chart of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays Fielding Lucas, Jr. Baltimore, Maryland, 1832
Huntingfield Corporation Map Collection, MSA SC 1399-1-295
Fielding Lucas, Maryland's only active cartographer and map publisher of the time, added several new features to this chart of the bay. He used color to make the map more readable, included three scales for different latitudes, provided notes, tables of tidal information, and included data on navigational aids. Also, this was one of the first charts to show the Chesapeake-Delaware canal, constructed from 1824 to 1829.