1904 Eldridge Nautical Chart / Map of Massachusetts Bay

This is a 1904 George Eldridge blueback nautical chart or maritime map of Massachusetts Bay. Coverage extends from Cape Ann south to Chatham and from Boston east to the Atlantic Ocean. Boston, Charlestown, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, and Roxbury appear in the upper right and are shaded gray for emphasis. The many flats and islands in the President Roads are illustrated with excellent navigational detail. Coastal lights are marked in red manuscript ink. Countless depth soundings are noted throughout. Coastal cities and towns, including Salem, Marblehead, Gloucester, Plymouth, Barnstable, Yarmouth, and Provincetown, are labeled. Notes in the top and bottom margin state that one ought to 'use Eldridge's Tide Book with the Chart'.

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 in an effort 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 drawn by A. N. Houghton and published by George W. Eldridge in 1904. Several editions were published. We have located examples in institutional collections dating as early as 1898 (which has a copyright date of 1895 suggesting even earlier editions) and as late as 1924 bearing the same title. We have been unable to locate any other examples of the 1904 edition.