Old Sea Charts & Historic Nautical Maps
Explore our collection of old sea charts and historic nautical maps, recording British coastal waters and some of the world’s most important maritime routes.
The selection ranges from Greenville Collins’s seventeenth-century surveys of the British coast to charts by Jan Jansson, Pieter Goos and Frederik de Wit. It also includes Jacques-Nicolas Bellin’s maps of the Pacific, charts of the Strait of Magellan and richly detailed views of the English Channel, North Sea, African coast and Mediterranean.
These historic charts preserve coastlines, islands, straits, harbours and the geographical knowledge available to sailors and mapmakers of their time. Their engraved detail, decorative cartouches, sailing ships and finely drawn coastlines also give them considerable appeal as nautical wall art.
Each is a fine art reproduction of a genuine historical chart rather than a modern design simply made to look old. They are intended for display and historical interest, not for modern navigation.
Historic Sea Charts and the Art of Navigation
Charting Coasts and Harbours
For sailors, the accurate shape of a coast and the position of a harbour could matter more than the detail of the land beyond it. Nautical charts therefore give particular attention to headlands, islands, anchorages, channels and approaches to port. Soundings and navigational marks appear on some works, while others offer a broader view of a sea, coastline or trading region.
The Graphic Language of the Sea
Compass roses and radiating rhumb lines give many old charts their instantly recognisable character. Ships, sea creatures and decorative cartouches animate the open water, and coastal profiles may help a viewer imagine how land appeared from a vessel offshore. These features were not identical from one publisher to another; each chart reflects its maker's purpose, sources and visual style.
Surveyors, Publishers and Maritime Power
The collection includes work associated with notable chartmakers such as John Seller, Greenvile Collins, Johannes Janssonius, Pieter Goos, Frederick de Wit and Jacques-Nicolas Bellin. Their maps emerged from a world in which naval strength, commerce and geographical knowledge were closely linked. Improved surveys could support safer passage, but they could also serve trade, empire and military ambition.
For Sailors and Coastal Historians
A sea chart can evoke a favourite stretch of coast, a family connection with maritime life or a wider fascination with ships and exploration. The prints are reproduced for their historical and decorative interest, preserving the character of the original engraving. They are not modern navigational charts and must not be used for navigation although some shenanigans we occasionally witness in Whitesand Bay make us wonder if some do.
