The British Hydrographic Office was founded in 1795 by George III, who appointed Alexander Dalrymple as the first Hydrographer to the Admiralty. The first charts were produced in 1800. Unlike the U. S. Coast Survey the Hydrographic Office was given permission to sell charts to the public and they produced a great number of sea charts covering every corner of the globe. Most of the Admiralty charts produced by the Hydrographic Office delineated coastline as well as high and low water marks and record depth of water as established by soundings. In addition these charts included information on shoals, reefs, and other navigational hazards that plagued mariners across the world. Thanks to the innovations of Sir Francis Beaufort, who developed the Beaufort Scale of wind strength, the British Hydrographic Office became one of the leading producers of sea charts. In fact, such was their accuracy that the phrase 'Safe as an Admiralty Chart' was coined.

The present collection of charts represents some of the surveys undertaken by the Admiralty during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries:

1. North Polar Chart, including the Atlantic Ocean to the 50th parallel and the Arctic Seas from Barrow and Franklin Straits on the West to Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land on the east, published 1875, corrections to 1929

On a scale of 1:7,700,000, the present chart shows the Northern Polar region incorporating Scandanavia, Greenland, Iceland, the British Isles and parts of Canada. The Atlantic Ocean is shows to the 50th parallel, on which the tracks of several voyages are represented, including those of the Pandora, a steam-yacht which sailed to the Canadian arctic under the command of Allen Young in 1875 and 1876.


2. North Polar Chart, including the Arctic Seas from the Gulf of Yenisei on the West to Lancaster & Smith Sounds on the east with Bering Strait and the Pacific Ocean to the 50th parallel, 1881, correction 1904

On a scale of 1:7,500,000 the chart presents the Northern Polar region including the arctic archipelago, the north eastern coast of Russia and the Pacific Ocean to the 50th parallel. In the lower centre of the chart is the Bearing Sea, above which the Bearing Straight separates Russian from North America. Soundings are given across the waters and on land there are toponyms, the majority along the coastlines.


3. The North Sea, engraved 1913, magnetic variation 1927

The Admiralty chart of the North sea depicts the body of water in between the British Isles and Scandinavia, bordered to the south by Belgium and Germany. Depth soundings appear across the Sea, as do tracks of voyages, and on the land toponyms are found around the coastlines. Magnetic variations are updated on the present map up to 1927.


4. Baltic Sea, compiled from the latest information in the Hydrographic Department, 1919. Magnetic variation 1927

Depth soundings are shown throughout the waters of the Baltic Sea in the present Admiralty Chart, along with the main waterways of Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and northern Germany. There are also four compass roses on the land and magnetic variation updated to 1927.


5. Indian Ocean – Southern Portion / The Indian Ocean, Engraved 1870, magnetic variation 1927

The southern half of the Admiralty chart of the Indian Ocean shows the vast stretch of water between Africa, to the east of which the whole of Madagascar is shown, and Australia. Magnetic variation is updated to 1927. Strong currents are identified and caution is given to sailors in certain treacherous areas. Soundings are given in the waters and many geographical features are shown on land.

6. Indian Ocean – Northern Portion

The northern half of the Admiralty chart of the Indian Ocean published in 1870, the present charts shows parts of east Africa, the Arabian peninsula, the Indian subcontinent, and much of South East Asia. On the land major rivers, mountain ranges and cities are identified, while in the Indian Ocean depth soundings are given and numerous islands are represented. Magnetic variation has been updated on the present chart to 1927.


7. British & German in New Guinea, War Office 1906

This 1906 map of British New Guinea, German New Guinea (also known as Kaiser-Wilhelms-land), and the Bismarck Archipelago was produced by the Geographical Section of the General Staff of the War Office of Great Britain. Germany annexed the northern area of the island of New Guinea in 1884, together with islands of New Britain and New Ireland. The Germans renamed the former New Pomerania and the latter New Mecklenburg. Also shown is Bougainville Island, which Germany annexed in 1889. When World War I broke out in 1914, German New Guinea was quickly occupied by British Imperial Forces and the whole area was placed under Australian administration in October 1914. At the end of the World War I, German New Guinea became an Australian mandate under the League of Nations as the territory of New Guinea. British New Guinea, German New Guinea, and the Bismarck Archipelago today are part Papua New Guinea, which became independent in 1975. The map shows a small part of Dutch New Guinea (part of present-day Indonesia), and the extreme northern tip of Queensland, Australia. Relief is shown by form lines and spot elevations. A stamp at the bottom indicates that the map was "Loaned by the American Geographical Society to the Peace Conference at Versailles, 1918-1919."
(Library of Congress)