Ode To Oceanography: A Chart Of The Bay Of Bengal
This is the thirteenth article in our Ode to Oceanography Series. This series will publish on the 15th of every month, until we run out of antique nautical maps to analyze, though that will not be for many decades. Once that happens, we will keep the series running, but we will change the article format. In these articles, will take an antique nautical map & analyze it in its entirety. These maps will not strictly be on open oceanic waters, they may be on rivers or occasionally, bays. We will also discuss the methods that may have been used to make the map, considering the time period, & the country of origin. These maps will come from a variety of sources, though they will mainly come from Maps Of Antiquity, a wonderful New England map shop. These maps will come from varying time periods, & will not be in any particular historical order. Today’s map, is an antique map of the Bay of Bengal. The Bay of Bengal is a part of the Indian Ocean, that is located between India, & the Indochinese peninsula. The Bay Of Bengal Region is approximately 838,600 square miles (2,171,964.03 square kilometers). The chart itself is in fair condition, but it does have some moisture damage on the corners. Additionally, it has some a large crease in the center, & a small crease towards the side of the map. The map is approximately 39.5 inches long, & 50 inches wide. In this article we will discuss the map itself, the translation of certain sections of the map, & a surface level analysis on this antique nautical map. With that being said let us delve into the Bay of Bengal.
The Chart Itself
Since this map was made & designed in English, there is no need for translation. The map is very detailed & uncoloured, with no writing smudged. The map is centered on the Bay of Bengal. The map has the various names of settlements that are in the Bay of Bengal, as well as all the island chains that are in the Bay. This map is very accurate, & very few islands are left off of it. The map does not have any oceanic depths, or oceanic features labelled.
An Analysis Of The Chart
This map was Published in 1873, by Scottish Hydrographers, James Imray & James Frederick Imray. James Imray was the father of James Frederick Imray. The map was made & published in London. This map was made available for purchase by Maps of Antiquity. It is unclear whether or not the map is a part of any particular collection. This map was made privately, & was not used for military purposes. Considering the time & the person that this was made by, the map was most certainly made by Lithography. There are extremely few other methods that it would have been made with, & lithography was the cheapest & fastest way to produce maps at the time. 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 map wanted 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. Afterwards, an exact copy of whatever was supposed to be printed is revealed.
Directories / Credits
All credit for this map analyzed today goes to Maps Of Antiquity, a wonderful New England map shop. To purchase this map, any other maps, or any other cartographic objects, please visit mapsofantiquity.com. To be clear, this is not an advertisement for Maps Of Antiquity, as we do not have a partnership with them.
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