HYDROGRAPHIC MAPS

Antique hydrographic maps are essential records of maritime history, charting oceans, bays, rivers, and coastal waters with remarkable detail. These historic nautical charts were the tools of sailors, explorers, naval officers, and merchants, used to navigate dangerous shoals, channels, and sea routes long before modern instruments.

Many original charts in this category were produced by renowned nautical surveyors and cartographers such as Adrien Hubert Brue, James Cook, Alexander Dalrymple, Hermann Moll, Willem van Keulen, Thomas Jefferys, and the British Admiralty. Their engraved coastlines, soundings, compass roses, and rhumb lines represent the knowledge and craftsmanship of their age.

Hydrographic maps documenting the coasts of continents and islands are prized by collectors for both their aesthetic value and historical significance. These antique sea charts capture how early hydrographers balanced science, exploration, and art, and they remain fascinating artifacts of global navigation history.