Ode To Oceanography: An Antique Map Of Saint Lawrence River
This article will be the first article in the “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 that will be analyzed, is an antique nautical map of the Saint Lawrence River, located in Quebec Canada. This river runs from the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to above the province of Quebec, it is also in french so we will attempt to decipher it. 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 Saint Lawrence River.
The Map Itself
On the large emblem on the map, it reads “Carte Du Cours Du Fleuve De S’Laurent, Depuis son embouchure jusqu'au dessous Québec.” Which translates to “Map Of The Course Of the S’Lawrence River, From its mouth to below Quebec.” It is extremely hard to decipher, as the handwriting has blurred with time, & it is of course in French. It also reads on the river “Fleuve De S’Laurent” which translates to “Lawrence River”. On the map you can see mainland Quebec, & labelled as “Isle De’Anticosti” is Anticosti island. You can also see the Gaspé Peninsula, labelled in french as “Gaspesie”. On this peninsula you can see mountains drawn, you can see mountains drawn down all of New Brunswick. There are many labels in french for various parts of the river, & parts of the coast, but they are much to small to decipher.
An Analysis Of The Nautical Map
This map was made in the year 1758. It is unknown where this map was found exactly, but it can only be assumed that it was in found Quebec, as the map is in french. The map is of the Saint Lawrence river, from its mouth to just Below Quebec. This map has no particular name. The map has no sea monsters, legends, or anything of that nature labeled on the map, that I am able to tell. The mountain of known as Mont Jacques Cartier is outlined on the map very prominently. There are no wind patterns shown on the map, or wave patterns. The map is surprisingly accurate, & very few small islets were left off the map. This map was most likely printed using the engraving technique. This is a technique which was the most popular at the time, & the easiest way to mass produce maps. In this technique, there are 5 jobs, the mapmaker, the engraver, the printer, the papermaker, & 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 ink is only on the grooves of the panel. Then after this, 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.
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, 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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