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MAP #: 299N5

CARTOGRAPHER : NORIE, JOHN WILLIAM

DATE: 1799

SHORT TITLE : TO THE INDEPENDENT MARINERS OF AMERICA

REMAINING TITLE & ID : THIS CHART OF THEIR COAST FROM SAVANNAH TO BOSTON IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THEIR MOST OBLIGED & GRATEFUL SERVANT, W HEATHER. ENGRAVED BY J. STEPHENSON. (OVAL CARTOUCHE, RIGHT BOTTOM CORNER OF SOUTHERN SHEET). "PUBLISHED AS THE ACT DIRECTS, MARCH 5th. 1799, BY Wm. HEATHER, AT THE NAVIGATION WAREHOUSE, No. 157, LEADENHALL STREET, LONDON." (BELOW CARTOUCHE). "DRAWN BY J. NORIE TEACHER OF NAVIGATION, LEADENHALL STREET, LONDON" (BOTTOM LEFT CORNER, SOUTHERN SHEET, BETWEEN LATITUDE SCALE AND NEAT LINE). "NOTE" (BELOW "THE UNITED STATES", TOP CENTER, SOUTHERN SHEET). SCALE SHOWING DEGREES OF LATITUDE DIVIDED INTO MILES (DIAGONALLY ACROSS BOTH SHEETS FROM LOWER LEFT TO UPPER RIGHT). CHART IS IN 2 SHEETS, WITH WNW AT THE TOP. LONGITUDE WEST FROM GREENWICH (LEFT AND RIGHT BORDERS). LATITUDE (TOP AND BOTTOM BORDERS).

DATE OF PUBLICATION : S1799
PLACE OF PUBLICATION : LONDON
PUBLISHER : WILLIAM HEATHER
LANGUAGE(S) : EN
SIZE (HEIGHT X WIDTH) : 64.1 X 155.8 CM. (2 SHEETS JOINED)
SIZE - OTHER DATA : ? X ? CM. OM
SCALE - (RF) 1: : 1,025,000
SCALE - OTHER DATA : 60 MILES = 9.4 CM.
LIB. OF CONGRESS # : -
Md. HALL OF RECORDS # 1 : MSA SC1399-456
HUNTINGFIELD ACQ. # 1 : A016-HU2
REGION CATEGORY : GENERAL AREA CHART OF SOME SIGNIFICANCE TO A MD/CHESAPEAKE COLLECTION (3)
SPECIAL CATEGORY(IES) :
# SHEETS TO MAP : 2
MAP ORIENTATION : WNW IS AT THE TOP OF THE MAP
RELIEF SHOWN ? : NO
HYDROGRAPHIC DATA : SHOALS ARE SHOWN BY SHADING.
: SOUNDINGS ARE SHOWN IN FATHOMS AND FEET.
: BOTTOM CONDITIONS ARE INDICATED IN THE ATLANTIC NEAR SHORE.
: DIRECTION OF CURRENT FLOW IS SHOWN BY ARROWS.
CARTOUCHE : OVAL (21)
BORDER : GEOGRAPHICALLY FUNCTIONAL (8)
PRIME MERIDIAN(S) : LONDON (1)
SEE ALSO MAP #s : -
BEST INFO SOURCE : HOWES & SANDERSON, TOOLEY, RITCHIE (BACKGROUND) AND MORRISON & HANSEN (CHART).
DESCRIPTION : THIS FIVE FOOT LONG CHART IN TWO SHEETS OF THE EAST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FROM CASCO BAY TO SOUTH OF SAVANNAH IS UNUSUAL IN BEING ORIENTED WITH WNW AT THE TOP IN ORDER TO DEPICT THE ENTIRE STRETCH OF THIS COASTLINE ON A RECTANGULAR SHEET. SOUNDINGS ARE PRIMARILY IN FATHOMS, BUT WITH SOME SHOAL SOUNDINGS IN FEET. SHOALS ARE SHOWN SHADED BY SHADING. DIRECTION OF CURRENT FLOW IS INDICATED BY ARROWS. THE CONDITION OF THE BOTTOM IS SHOWN. THE CHART STILL HAS A NETWORK OF RHUMB LINES, WHICH ORIGINATED WITH PORTOLAN CHARTS. RHUMB LINES WERE ABANDONED IN THE ADMIRALTY PRODUCED CHARTS WHEN THEY WERE FIRST OFFERED FOR SALE IN 1823 AND COMPASS ROSES WERE SUBSTITUTED. THE CHESAPEAKE BAY IS DIVIDED, WITH PART ON EACH SHEET OF THE CHART. THE CHART WAS DRAWN BY JOHN NORIE, ENGRAVED BY J. STEPHENSON AND PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM HEATHER AS A SEPARATE.

IN THE LATTER HALF OF THE 18TH CENTURY THERE WERE A NUMBER OF CHART SELLERS IN LONDON, INCLUDING WILLIAM HEATHER, WHO PROVIDED CHARTS PRIMARILY TO THE MERCHANT TRADE. HEATHER'S BUSINESS WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1765 AT 157 LEADENHALL ST., INITIALLY "UNDER THE SIGN OF THE LITTLE MIDSHIPMAN" AND LATER "AT THE NAVIGATION WAREHOUSE", WHERE HE PRODUCED A SERIES OF IMPORTANT CHARTS AND PILOT GUIDES AND SOLD CHARTS AND NAUTICAL INSTRUMENTS. HEATHER, LIKE SAYER AND OTHERS, RELIED FOR NEW SURVEYS ON THE WORK OF SEA CAPTAINS, SINCE HE HAD NO SUCH SERVICE OF HIS OWN. PRIVATE CHARTS COULD BE BOUGHT EITHER IN ATLAS OR SHEET FORM. BECAUSE OF THE GREATER WEAR IN SHEET FORM, THEY WERE OFTEN MOUNTED ON CANVAS OR LINEN OR HEAVY PAPER, WITH THE OUTER SHEET USUALLY BLUE. FROM THIS, PRIVATE CHARTS GOT THE NAME "BLUEBACK CHARTS". IN THE EARLY 19TH CENTURY, THE ROLLED BLUEBACK CHARTS CAME MORE IN USE AND WERE OFTEN AS LARGE AS 6 FEET TO CUT DOWN ON THE NUMBER OF CHARTS REQUIRED TO BE CARRIED BY EACH SHIP. LATER, AS HYDROGRAPHIC DATA WAS COLLECTED BY THE BRITISH ADMIRALTY, SUCH DATA FOR PRIVATE CHARTS WAS OBTAINED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY FROM OFFICIAL SOURCES AND THE PRIVATE TRADE GRADUALLY DECLINED.

JOHN WILLIAM NORIE WAS A HYDROGRAPHER, PUBLISHER AND TEACHER OF NAVIGATION AT THE NAVIGATION WAREHOUSE WITH HEATHER. HE ALSO DREW CHARTS FOR HEATHER PRIOR TO TAKING OVER THE BUSINESS ON HEATHER'S DEATH IN 1812. NORIE WAS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS "EPITOME OF PRACTICAL NAVIGATION" IN 1805, WHICH REMAINED A STANDARD WORK FOR MANY YEARS. NORIE CONTINUED IN BUSINESS UNTIL 1839, WHEN HIS BUSINESS PASSED TO J. WILSON AND BECAME KNOWN AS NORIE & WILSON.

DATA IS FROM HOWSE & SANDERSON, TOOLEY AND RITCHIE. THIS CHART IS NOT IN PHILLIPS OR VERNER.

EDITION & STATE INFO : ONLY A SINGLE EDITION IN ONE STATE, AS DESCRIBED, IS KNOWN TO THE WRITER.

HFC OWNERSHIP DATA : THE HUNTINGFIELD COLLECTION HAS A GOOD COPY OF THIS CHART IN BLACK AND WHITE, SEPARATED INTO TWO SHEETS. THERE ARE SEVERAL TEARS AND MISSING AREAS ALONG THE BORDER, WHICH HAVE BEEN STRENGTHENED ON THE BACK. THE CHART HAS AN ACQ. # OF A016-HU2 AND A MDHR # OF MSA SC1399-456.

BIBLIGRAPHICAL REFS. : TOOLEY, R.V., TOOLEY'S DICTIONARY OF MAPMAKERS, ED. 1, TRING, HERTFORDSHIRE: MAP COLLECTOR PUBLICATIONS LTD., 1979, 290, 468; HOWSE, DEREK & MICHAEL SANDERSON, THE SEA CHART, NEW YORK: MCGRAW-HILL BOOK COMPANY, 1973, 123, 127; RITCHIE, G.S., THE ADMIRALTY CHART BRITISH NAVAL HYDROGRAPHY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, LONDON: HOLLIS & CARTER, 1967, 22; MORRISON, RUSSELL & ROBERT HANSEN, CHARTING THE CHESAPEAKE, ANNAPOLIS: MARYLAND STATE ARCHIVES: 1990, 39, 42, 156, FIG. 24.

July 11, 1991


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