1860 Copley Blueback Nautical Chart of Long Island, New York

An extremely rare 1860 blueback nautical chart or maritime map of Long Island by the Brooklyn chart publisher Charles Copley. Copley's chart covers from Staten Island to Montauk, inclusive of the Connecticut coast, Long Island Sound, Long Island itself, New York City, and parts of adjacent New Jersey and Rhode Island. Moreover, the map features three large insets detailing Cape Cod and vicinity, New York City's East River, and New York City's Hell Gate.

Content of the Chart

Copley published this map at the height of his career and it incorporates the best hydrographic information regarding New York and Long Island available at the time. It incorporates the most advised shipping routes, countless depth soundings, shading, notes on light houses and buoys, and some important in land information. With its three large and valuable insets, this chart would have been extremely valuable for those running the lucrative New York – Boston route.

Privately Published

This chart was privately published but bears a note claiming that Copley had 'special permission' from the Secretary of the Treasure to use government information compiled by the United States Coast Survey. To this end he refers to his business the 'Hydrographic Office' and incorporates a logo that is a clear mimicry of the Coast Survey insignia. Still, Guthorn observes that, despite the public availability of many official coast survey charts,

Small scale charts were favored by shipmasters, with large scale inset charts of harbors. This aided coastwise navigation, and inshore and harbor piloting with a minimum number of charts .

Interesting Provenance

This is a working nautical chart that was owned by the Thomas Reese Anderson, the New Brunswick captain of the Arcadia, a barque built in Rockland New Brunswick. Anderson is especially admiring for he thought and extensively logbooks that provide a unique insight into the dying days of the clipper ship era. He retired from a diverse and prosperous maritime career as a man of substance in Sackville, New Brunswick. He died shortly after having been hit by an oncoming train in which he was, ironically, partially invested.

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.

Publication History and Census

Copley first published this map in 1858. The present example was issued with updates and revisiosn in 1860. We are aware of one other edition from the 1880s. The OCLC identifies no institutional holdings of this chart.