MAP, Gulf of Mexico, Depot de la Marine

Gulf of Mexico & Caribbean. Depot de la Marine, Carte du Golfe du Mexique, 1843 (dated). Hand Color. This rare chart is the descendant of important Spanish hydrographical charts from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The chart focuses on the Gulf of Mexico and the Greater Antilles, with hundreds of depth soundings, rocks, shoals, anchorages, and a few lighthouses. There is no inland detail. There are several dashed lines in the waters indicating the western limit of the Gulf Stream and William Steetz’s 1827 track through the Bahamas. The engraved seal of the Depot de la Marine appears below the title, and the price is below the map at right: Prix Deux Francs. The map was engraved by Chassant with lettering by J.M. Hacq. The map was designed by Heinrich Keller, a Swiss publisher and mapmaker who worked for the French Depot de la Marine.
Dimensions: 23.3 x 35.6 in
Condition Report: A blue-backed chart with some soiling and minor creasing. There is a shadow along the centerfold that is caused by our scanner and doesn't appear on the map itself. Grade: B+