Ode To Oceanography: An Antique Nautical Chart of Copenhagen, Denmark

Today’s antique nautical chart in our Ode to Oceanography series is an intriguing, 198-year-old nautical chart of Copenhagen, Denmark! This chart showcases the “Kattegat”, which is a sea passage between the North Sea & Baltic Sea, between Denmark & Sweden. This map depicts the entirety of the passage, along with parts of northeastern Denmark, & Southwestern Sweden.

The map is mostly in Danish, making it difficult to understand for many primary English speakers, however, the information is still mostly intelligible. The chart contains a treasure trove of trade routes, islands, communities, sounding depths, lighthouses, & similar information, making it extremely useful to any sailor of the era attempting to cross the Kattegat. The chart is also rather large at 22 inches wide by 35.4 inches long. It is in fantastic condition as well, with little to no yellowing, marks, fold-lines, rips, or tears, making the image clear.

In today’s article, we shall discuss the map itself, & perform an analysis of it! With that being said, let us delve into the icy waters of Denmark!

The Chart Itself

A magnificent 198-year-old map of the Kattegat between Denmark & Sweden, connecting the North & Baltic Seas. Credit to the Danish Royal Navy.

As mentioned in the introduction, the subject of this map is the Kattegat, which translates literally as “Cat’s Gate”, for its rough waters, islands, narrowness, & rocky outcroppings. The area is a very economically, & politically important body of water connecting the North & Baltic Seas. At the time, it was also a massive source of income for the Danish Government, as it would tax any vessels sailing through. The Kattegat enables trade between the two regions, & as such, it was essential to have proper navigation when sailing through it.

The chart is uncoloured, maintaining a consistent cream colour throughout, not changing to differentiate land & sea.

The chart includes a decent amount of bathymetric information, meaning information about the seafloor, as sounding depths can be seen displayed in some of the oceanic areas. In addition to this, it includes an incredible amount of town names, settlement names, lighthouses, & islands, useful to any sailor or merchant looking to transport goods or passengers between the two nations.

As mentioned in the introduction, the chart is in stunning condition considering its age. It has no yellowing, a few completely repaired rips not impacting the quality of information, no fold lines, or anything of the type.

An Analysis Of The Chart

This chart was designed & manufactured in 1827 by the Royal Danish Nautical Chart Archive. The Royal Danish Nautical Chart Archive was created by the Danish Government in 1784 to provide accurate nautical information to the Royal Danish Navy, civilian sailors, & merchants passing through Danish waters.

In the top right corner, we see a gorgeous design called a “Cartouche”, around the title of the map, “Kaart over Kattegattet”. This cartouche contains a mermaid playing the lyre, a merman holding a trident & raising his hand, along with 2 goddesses holding a spyglass along an oar, the bows of ships. Above the cartouche is the seal of King Frederick VI of Denmark, Former King of Norway.

Immediately below that, we see the crest of the Royal Danish Navy, which has the initials of the Royal Danish Nautical Chart Archives, along with the date that the map was manufactured.

Considering the time that the chart was made in, the late 1820s, we believe that this chart was manufactured through lithography.

Lithography is a method of printing that arose in the 1820s, & remained the most popular method of printing in both color & grayscale until the early 1960s, when more efficient methods became available. Although it has existed since the mid-1790s, it took a long time to gain popularity in Europe due to technical difficulties, & only began gaining commercial popularity in the early 1820s. It is still widely used for certain kinds of printing, such as fine art printing today, however, digital printing is far more common.

In the lithographic method, the artist will draw directly onto a printing surface, such as zinc, or copper, until they are satisfied with the drawing. After this, the surface will be covered with a chemical etch, which will bond it to the surface. With this process, the blank areas will attract moisture to the plate & repel the lithographic ink, while the areas that are drawn on will hold the ink. Water is then wiped onto the unpainted areas to help prevent the ink from deviating. After the image is inked, the paper is laid over it & covered with a tympan, & the tympan is pressed down. Finally, these materials pass through the scraper bar of the litho-press. Afterward, an exact copy of what was supposed to be printed is revealed. It is extremely useful for making high-resolution prints in high quantities.

A photograph of the Kattegat, depicted in its full glory. Credit to the shop Vikings & Valhalla.

Directories / Credits

All credit for this map analyzed today goes to Rare Maps, a California rare & antique maps store. To purchase this chart, antique atlases, or other cartographic objects, please visit www.raremaps.com. To be clear, this is not an advertisement for Rare Maps, as we do not have a partnership with them.

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