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Dear Tim,

It's good to find the lurkers occasionally breaking cover.

If you can find a copy, try "The Admiralty Chart- British Naval Hydrography
in the 19th century" by G S Ritchie, who was himself Hydrographer of the
Navy. Published by Hollis and Carter, 1967. It's historical rather than
technical.

There's much enjoyment and enlightenment to be got about charting and
mapping from some of the papers contributed to "The Quest for Longitude",
ed. Andrewes, pub. Harvard, 1996. Big and expensive, but a magnificent
book.

George Huxtable.


>Hello,
>
>I have lurked on this list for a couple years now. A lot of the topics have
>gone over my head, but I have greatly enjoyed reading many of the
>discussions. I haven't had time to practice using my sextant much lately
>(nor have I ever come close to mastering it), but the discussions on this
>list have inspired me to pull it out and experiment. Thank you!
>
>Anywho... I am just finishing a book called The Mapmakers, by John Noble
>Wilford. Wow! What a great book! I am sure many of you on this list have
>already read it, but I thought I would recommend it for the relative novice
>like myself. The 500+ page book covers Ptolemy, Magellan, Mercator,
>Beaufort, Harrison, Cook, Vancouver (my hero), Lewis & Clark and much, much
>more. I think it is written in a manner that the layperson can understand.
>Great bang for the buck--$11.20 at Amazon.
>
>The problem with this book is that it left me wanting more! Specifically, I
>would love to find a book that focuses more on the history of nautical
>charts (The Mapmakers is probably 3/4 about maps and 1/4 about nautical
>charts). The Mapmakers teases one with preliminary information about the UK
>Hydrographic Office, NOAA and the DMA, but doesn't go into much detail about
>those organizations. I would love to read more about about how nautical
>charts are created/surveyed and who was instrumental in making it all
>happen.
>
>Can anyone recommend a book like The Mapmakers, but is more focused on
>nautical charts?
>
>Thank You,
>
>Tim Whelan
>
>---------------------------------------------------------
>Tim Whelan                                           _/)
>Internet: http://www.tgw.net
>---------------------------------------------------------

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george@huxtable.u-net.com
George Huxtable, 1 Sandy Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13 5HX, UK.
Tel. 01865 820222 or (int.) +44 1865 820222.
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