1797 A Chart on Mercator’s Projection, containing the Track and Soundings of the Lion, the Hindostan and Tenders...
A Chart on Mercator’s Projection, containing the Track and Soundings of the Lion, the Hindostan and Tenders from Turon-Bay in Cochin-China to the mouth of the Pei-Ho River in the Gulph of Pe-tche-lee or Pekin.
By: Sir John Barrow
Date: 1797 (Published) London
Dimensions: 27.5 x 19.25 inches (69.8 x 48.9 cm)
This map is from the atlas "An Authentic Account of an Embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China" by Sir George Leonard Staunton. The map reflects findings of a scientific expedition in the late 18th century involving the British ships the Lion, the Hindostan, and their tenders.
The ships sailed into the waters off the SE coast of China on 14 June, and at frequent regular intervals took depth soundings and chronometer and thermometer readings, all of which are detailed along the route taken by the ships, as are shoals and other dangerous nautical features. Lunar observations were made and recorded and the meridians of Greenwich and Pekin are noted. The final date recorded on the route taken by the ships is 24 July.
In addition to nautical information, the map includes a wealth of information regarding those areas of China which are depicted, including geographical details such as locations and names of cities, towns, rivers, lakes and provinces. The Chinese coastline is drawn in fine detail, as is the western coastal area of Korea.
Sir John Barrow was an English statesman and writer, an explorer and cartographer who spent thirty years charting areas of previously little-charted or uncharted-by-Europeans territories, including large areas of the Arctic. He and his team discovered the North Magnetic Pole, and were the first to see volcanoes in the Antarctic. They crossed the Sahara to find Timbuktu and the mouth of the Niger. Barrow was appointed Second Secretary to the Admiralty and held the post for forty years. He was one of the founders of the Royal Geographical Society.
Condition: This superb map on heavy paper is in B condition. Some foxing and offsetting. Published folded, separations at some folds repaired with archival material on the verso.
Inventory #11187
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