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1853 Belcher / Ross Admiralty Chart of Mouth of the Pearl River, Macao, Hong Kong
HongKong-belcherross-1853-2$750.00
![China Eastern Coast Sheet I, From Mongchow to Hong Kong. / [Admiralty Chart No.] 2212. - Main View](https://www.geographicus.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/L/HongKong-belcherross-1853-2.jpg)
Title
China Eastern Coast Sheet I, From Mongchow to Hong Kong. / [Admiralty Chart No.] 2212.
1853 (dated) 20 x 26.75 in (50.8 x 67.945 cm) 1 : 300000
1853 (dated) 20 x 26.75 in (50.8 x 67.945 cm) 1 : 300000
Description
An important blueback nautical map of the southern coast of China in the vicinity of Hong Kong and Macao, published in 1853 by the British Admiralty. It reflects increasing familiarity with these waters in the era immediately following the First Opium War (1839 - 1842).
These coasts have changed considerably in some places due to dredging and reclamation in the 20th century. Toponyms are also often unrecognizable, as the transliteration of Cantonese was then not standardized, though in many cases can be reconstructed: Kowloon (Jiulong) appears here as Kowloun, Sanzao as Sanchow, and Shangchuan Island as 'St. John Island,' where Francis Xavier died trying to reach the Chinese mainland in 1552. The large area referred to here as 'Macao Island' is in fact the Chinese mainland, today's Zhuhai; this appellation appears to have been a convention in British charts of the era rather than a 'mistake' per se.
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.
A Closer Look
As indicated in the title, coverage ranges along the south China coast from Mongchow (漭州, Mangzhou) Island to Hong Kong Island, taking in the mouth of the Pearl River. Soundings, hazards, rocks, islets, and shoals are indicated in staggering detail throughout. Notes on landward features, such as 'fort,' 'joss house,' and 'fresh water' are also provided, and large peaks and other prominent topographical features are noted with their elevations. Several channels and 'roads' chart out the most navigable paths through the shallow waters. Handwritten annotations and navigation marks suggest shipboard use.These coasts have changed considerably in some places due to dredging and reclamation in the 20th century. Toponyms are also often unrecognizable, as the transliteration of Cantonese was then not standardized, though in many cases can be reconstructed: Kowloon (Jiulong) appears here as Kowloun, Sanzao as Sanchow, and Shangchuan Island as 'St. John Island,' where Francis Xavier died trying to reach the Chinese mainland in 1552. The large area referred to here as 'Macao Island' is in fact the Chinese mainland, today's Zhuhai; this appellation appears to have been a convention in British charts of the era rather than a 'mistake' per se.
Unruly Waters
The shallow waters of the Pearl River Estuary seen here demonstrate why large trading ships had difficulty reaching Canton (Guangzhou) and had to transition goods to smaller Chinese 'junks' designed for shallow water. Similarly, the multitude of islands and labyrinthine coastal inlets clarify why smuggling was so prevalent in these waters for much of China's dynastic history and nearly impossible to stamp out. Finally, the chart suggests why Hong Kong was so desirable to the British, compared to Canton, as it afforded more direct access to deep waters and open ocean, as well as the rest of the Chinese coast.The Admiralty and the Early Days of British Hong Kong
First among the naval officers whose surveys are cited in the title is Sir Edward Belcher. At the height of the First Opium War, Belcher's was the first British fleet to land on and take possession of Hong Kong for the British Crown. Belcher surveyed Hong Kong Island and Harbour after landing the bombing and surveying vessel H.M.S. Sulphur on Possession Point on January 26, 1841. He may have been unaware of the long-term significance of his conquest, but he was certainly a keen observer and recognized Hong Kong's strategic significance and commercial potential. As such, his impressive chart of the waters immediately around Hong Kong Island (previously sold by us), first published in May of 1843, set the standard upon which most subsequent nautical charts of Hong Kong were based well into the 20th century. His surveys also contributed to the present chart and others of the waters around Hong Kong.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 wrap unbound pamphlets, was adopted as a practical way to reinforce the low-quality paper used by private chart publishers to cut costs. That being said, not all blueback charts are literally backed with blue paper. 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.
Publication History and Census
This chart was published by the British Admiralty's Hydrographic Office in 1853, based on the surveys of several British naval officers, including Belcher. It is, in a sense, a 'descendant' of Daniel Ross' earlier chart of the South China Sea (previously sold by us), surveyed between 1806 and 1820, and was also very likely related to charts of other portions of the Chinese coast by Richard Collinson, which were published by the Admiralty around the same time. This chart is quite scarce; its only known institutional holding is with the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London.CartographerS
Sir Edward Belcher (February 27, 1799 – March 18, 1877) was a British naval officer, scientist, explorer, and marine surveyor active in the middle part of the 19th century. Belcher was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to a proud seafaring family. He entered the Royal Navy in 1812, at just 13 years of age. Thirteen years later, in 1825, he was assigned as official surveyor to the Frederick William Beechey expedition to the Pacific and the Bering Strait. By 1836 he was in command of his own surveying (and bombing) ship, the H.M.S. Sulphur in western Africa and the Pacific coast of South America. The Sulphur was ordered back to England via the Trans-Pacific Route in 1839. On the way, he was delayed and reassigned to China to take part in the First Opium War (1839 – 1842). During this period, on January 26 of 1841, he landed on Possession Point on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island. During this visit he made the influential first British survey of Hong Kong Harbor. On returning to England he was Knighted for his services and reassigned to the HMS Samarang to complete survey work throughout the East Indies, but most specifically in the Philippines. In 1852 he commanded the last and largest Admiralty expedition in search of the lost Arctic Explorer Sir John Franklin. The expedition had five ships, four of which were lost to the Arctic ice. Like all British naval officers who lose a ship, he was court-martialed on his return to England. Although exonerated, he never received another command. He died in London at the age of 78. Belcher is commemorated in Hong Kong through Belcher's Street, Belcher Bay and The Belcher's in Kennedy Town. His name is also commemorated in the Belcher Islands, in the Canadian Arctic. He is also commemorated with a plaque in the Admiralty Garden. Following his last active service, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1867 and an admiral in 1872. More by this mapmaker...
Daniel Ross (November 11, 1780 - October 29, 1849) was a British hydrographer and naval officer active in India and the Far East during the first half of the 19th century. Ross is admiringly referred to as 'The Father of the Indian Surveys.' He was born in Jamaica, the illegitimate son of Hercules Ross (1745 - December 25, 1816), a powerful Jamaican-English merchant, privateer ship owner, and naval price agent. His mother was Elizabeth Foord, a quadroon slave who Hercules later freed. Ross joined the Bombay Marine in 1795. From 1806 to 1820 he was assigned to survey the coast of China from Vietnam to Macao. In 1822 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society. By 1823 he had been appointed Marine Surveyor General of Calcutta, a position he held until he resigned in 1833. Afterwards he retired to Bombay (Mumbai) where in 1838 he was appointed President of the Bombay Geographical Society. He retained the position until retiring in ill-heath in 1849. He is the half-brother of sportsman and photography pioneer Horatio Ross. Learn More...
The British Admiralty Office (1795 - Present) or the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office refers to the Branch of the English government that is responsible for the command of the British Navy. In 1795 King George III created the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, known in short as the U.K.H.O., to provide top notch nautical charts to the vast Royal Navy. Prior the founding of the Admiralty the surveying and creation of nautical charts was primarily a commercial venture wherein the cartographer himself, more of than not, actually financed the printing of his own material. The great navigator Cook himself is known to have scrambled for funds to publish his own seminal charts - the most important and advanced of the period. The system of privately funded nautical mapping and publishing left vast portions of the world uncharted and many excellent charts unpublished. King George III, responding significant loss in trade revenue related to shipwrecks and delay due to poor charts, recognized the need for an institutionalized government sponsored cartographic agency - the Admiralty. The first head of the Admiralty, a position known as Hydrographer, was the important cartographer Alexander Dalrymple. Dalrymple started by organizing and cataloging obtainable charts before initiating the laborious process of updating them and filling in the blanks. The first official Admiralty Chart appeared in 1800 and detailed Quiberon Bay in Brittany. By 1808 the position of Hydrographer fell to Captain Thomas Hurd. Hurd advocated the sale of Admiralty charts to the general public and, by the time he retired in 1829, had issued and published some 736 charts. Stewardship of the organization then passed to Rear Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort. It was under Beaufort's administration that the Admiralty truly developed as a "chart making" as opposed to a "chart cataloging" institution. Beaufort held his post from 1829 to 1854. In his 25 years at the Admiralty Beaufort created nearly 1500 new charts and sponsored countless surveying and scientific expeditions - including the 1831 to 1836 voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle. By 1855 the Admiralty's chart catalog listed some 1,981 charts. Learn More...
John Walker (1787 - April 19, 1873) was a British map seller, engraver, lithographer, hydrographer, geographer, draughtsman, and publisher active in London during the 19th century. Walker published both nautical charts and geographical maps. His nautical work is particularly distinguished as he was an official hydrographer for the British East India Company, a position, incidentally, also held by his father of the same name. Walker's maps, mostly published after 1827, were primarily produced with his brothers Charles Walker and Alexander Walker under the imprint J. and C. Walker. Among their joint projects are more than 200 maps for the influential Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge Atlas (SDUK). In addition they published numerous charts for James Horsburgh and the British Admiralty Hydrographic Office, including Belcher's important map of Hong Kong and Carless' exploratory map of Karachi. The J. and C. Walker firm continued to publish after both Walkers died in the 1870s. Learn More...
Condition
Good. Some spotting and abrasions. Original backing, green edging.
References
OCLC 538236398.