Ode To Oceanography: An Antique Nautical Chart Of The Caribbean
- The Persaud Foundation
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Today’s chart is an ancient 375-year-old map of the Caribbean, from Puerto Rico to Trinidad.
The chart is moderately sized, at 20 inches long by 16 inches wide. It features the Caribbean Sea, & numerous Caribbean islands. It is in brilliant condition for its age, with few spots or signs of wear along the edges.
In today’s article, we are going to examine this antique map, discuss it, & perform an analysis of it. With that being said, let’s delve into the idyllic, tropical waters of the Caribbean Sea!
The Map Itself
This chart focuses on the Caribbean Sea, featuring Puerto Rico, Anguilla, Saint Martin, Saint-Barthélemy, Antigua, Guadalupe, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Grenada, Trinidad, & numerous other small islands. It is richly decorated, with numerous illustrations of ships, an elaborate cartouche, & an illustration of a person along with the map scale in the corner.
Each ship is unique, with varying sails, flags, & colours of wooden hulls. The Paria peninsula of Venezuela has numerous mountains drawn, along with a plethora of labelled coastal settlements.
An Analysis Of The Map
This chart was produced in 1650 by cartographer Johannes Janssonius. Jan Jansson was an esteemed hydrographer & cartographer of the 17th century, born in 1588 in Arnhem, Gelderland, The Netherlands. During this era, the Dutch ruled the cartographic market. Born to a father who owned a publishing house, he was exposed to the art of cartography & publishing at a young age. In 1612, at the age of 24, he wed the daughter of Jodocus Hondius, entering the cartographically important Hondius family in the process. Upon marrying, he moved to Amsterdam.
Janssonius published his first map in 1616, influenced heavily by cartographer Willem Blaeu. In the 1630’s, Jansson partnered with their brother-in-law Henricus Hondius, to produce the 11-volume Atlas Major.
Unfortunately, he passed away in 1664, upon which his business was overtaken by his son-in-law Johannes Waesberger, & his other his son-in-law Elizée Weyerstraet.
The chart is titled “Insula S. iuan De Puerto Rico Caribes uvel Canibasum Insulae”.
Considering the age of the map, it was most likely manufactured using the engraving method. In this technique, there are 4 roles, the mapmaker, the engraver, the printer, & the colourist.
The first step in this process is that the mapmaker will go out & make a hand-drawn map of the area where the map will encompass. Effectively, the mapmaker is the informant who makes the first copy.
After this, the engraver will create a design of the map in reverse on a metal, usually copper, surface. Usually, there would only be 1-2 plates used, however, it differs depending on the size of the map.
After the copper plate is made, the printer will heat the copper panel, & then proceed to lather it with ink. They will then wipe the copper panel down to the point where the ink is only on the grooves of the panel.
Thereafter, the printer will press damp paper onto the ink, & hang it up to dry. To conclude, the colourist will touch up the map & decorate it by adding in details, such as shorelines & shoals. The result should be a detailed chart with colour, & depth, useful to any sailor of the era traversing the high seas.
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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