NORIE, John W. (1772-1843)

[Southern portion of the Gulf of Mexico with inset charts of Jamaica, Mobile Bay, the Harbour of Vera Cruz, the Harbour of Tampico]

London: J. W. Norie & Co., 1836. Black and white copper engraving. Four vertical creases where folded, multiple creases at centerfold. Repaired split in center fold about two inches long. There are erasible pencil lines and dates that chronicle a sea voyage]. Sheet size: 23 1/2 x 63 1/2 inches.

A large, handsomely engraved chart of the Gulf of Mexico south of Cuba and including all of the Caribbean Islands, the eastern coast of Central America and the northern coast of South America.

John William Norie was the leading chartmaker and writer on navigation of his time. Born in London, he attached himself to William Heather at an early age and by the age of 25 was making charts independently. William Heather ran a shop for navigators known as the Naval Academy and the Naval Warehouse. (Dickens later used the Naval Warehouse in Dombey and Son). It sold nautical instruments, sea charts, guides and instructional books on navigation. By 1815, Heather had retired, and Norie was in command. His accomplishments were considerable and lasting, including several atlases of sea charts:Complete West India Pilot (first published in 1828), from which this chart comes; East India Pilot (1816); North Sea & Baltic Pilot (1824); Complete North America and United States Pilot (1825); as well as general works on navigation, most notably The Epitome of Practical Navigation (1805), which was the standard work throughout the 19th century. This highly detailed, large chart shows all of Jamaica, Santo Domingo, all of the Caribbean Islands, the north coast of South America and the east coast of Central America. It includes inset charts of Jamaica, Mobile Bay (Alabama), Vera Cruz and Tampico.

Item #15528

Price: $1,500.00