Detail View: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection: Wind and current chart of the South Atlantic : Series D. No. 1.

Maury, Matthew Fontaine, 1806-1873

Morris, Charles, 1784-1856

1852

Wind and current chart of the South Atlantic : Series D. No. 1.

U.S. Hydrographic Office, Bureau of Navigation, Navy Department

Washington, D.C.

Atlas Map

Chart Map

90

62

5,000,000

Nautical chart representing the South Atlantic Ocean. First in a series of four consecutive sheets. Shows place names, bodies of water, drainage, coastlines, islands, ocean currents, wind, and temperature. Includes latitudinal and longitudinal lines, as well as explanatory notes and a legend indicating water surface temperatures in Fahrenheit and the first month of each season. With the seal of the United States Hydrographical Office. Color lithograph. Chart is 90 x 62 cm, on double sheet, 93 x 65 cm.

South Atlantic Ocean

Nautical Charts

Weather

Data Visualization

Wind and current chart of the South Atlantic : Series D. No. 1. By M.F. Maury L.L.D. Lieut. U.S. Navy. Superintdt. of U.S.N. Observatory, Washington. Compiled from materials in the Bureau of Ordinance and Hydrography. Commodore Charles Morris, Chief of Bureau. 1852.

14494.036

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Maury, Matthew Fontaine, 1806-1873

1854

Maury, M.F. Wind and current charts of the Atlantic. Wash. 1852 x 53 fol.

Maury, M.F. Wind and current charts of the Atlantic. Wash. 1852 x 53 fol. Atlas factice. Bound in black cloth with leather corners and spine. Gilt spine title. With seal on front cover: Maury Atlanterhavet. Handwritten title pasted onto front cover. The charts within the volume were published by the U.S. Hydrographic Office, Bureau of Navigation, Navy Department, Washington, D.C., 1852-1854. The atlas was compiled at a later date, accounting for the inconsistent pagination. First two pages stamped with the seal of the The Royal Danish Chart Archive: “Det Kongelige Danske Søkort Arkiv”. Atlas comprised of 39 hydrographic charts representing the Atlantic Ocean. Charts show place names, bodies of water, drainage, coastlines, islands, ocean currents, water temperature, wind, and regions frequented by sperm and right whales. The charts were produced by Matthew Fontaine Maury, then serving as Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, under the auspices of the U.S. Hydrographic Office. The charts incorporate data that Maury initially compiled from ships' logs stored at the Navy's Depot of Charts and Instruments, which later became the Naval Observatory. Maury then obtained massive amounts of navigational, hydrographic, and meteorological data from the recent voyages of Navy and commercial ships, whose officers submitted the information on specially designed abstract logs created by Maury, in return for free copies of the Wind and current charts. This was the age of the great Clipper Ships, whose captains prized Maury's charts. By following the wind and current directions, the captains were able to shorten their voyages from North American ports to the Far East. Each vessel’s name, tracks, and dates are given on the charts. One such track depicts the USS Brandywine in 1829, on which Maury served as a midshipman. Using an ingenious set of symbols for winds (small brushes), currents (arrows), water temperatures (simple numerals), and adding color coding for the seasons, Maury was able to present an enormous volume of data in a small area. Six types of charts were produced: Series A, Track charts — Series B, Trade wind charts — Series C, Pilot charts — Series D, Thermal charts — Series E, Storm and rain charts — Series F, Whale charts. For a comprehensive discussion of the series and listing of all charts known to have been produced, see The wind and current chart series produced by Matthew Fontaine Maury by Marc I. Pinsel, in Navigation : Journal of the Institute of Navigation, v. 28, no. 2 (Summer, 1981), p. 123-137. The insignia of the U.S. Hydrographical Office appears on most of the charts. Maury was the chief naval officer in charge of charts from 1843 to 1861. His seminal work on ocean currents and related atmospheric phenomena commenced in 1847, with the publication of his map of the currents of the North Atlantic (Schwartz & Ehrenberg, 278) and culminated with The Physical Geography of the Sea, published in 1855. His work describing seasonal winds and currents was conceived largely outside conventional academic circles. Maury was made an honorary member of the Boston Marine Society, where his portrait was hung, and later turned upside down when he elected to join the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Historical notes from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Libraries and Barry Lawrence Ruderman, Antique Maps Inc. https://collections.lib.uwm.edu/digital/collection/agdm/id/1483/ https://www.raremaps.com/gallery/detail/35099mb/wind-and-current-chart-of-the-north-atlantic-by-mf-maury-maury

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Chart Atlas

Regional Atlas

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Maury, Matthew Fontaine, 1806-1873; Morris, Charles, 1784-1856