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  3. Cambridge Library Collection - The Nautical Magazine

The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, published monthly at the price of one shilling. It aimed to advance 'the safety of seamen', with a focus on the merchant marine, and a readership of professional seafarers. The founding editor, A. B. Becher (1796–1876), served for many years under the distinguished hydrographer Sir Francis Beaufort, and the magazine reflected Beaufort's interests by reporting on new charts, research on weather and the oceans, astronomy and navigation, and statistics on wrecks and the Lifeboat Institution. The content regularly included serialised accounts of voyages, descriptions of distant countries, notes on new shipping regulations, and discussion of the latest technologies. There were also reports on current affairs such as (during the Victorian period) the searches for Sir John Franklin's lost Arctic expedition, the Crimean War and the Suez Canal project. Astute editorial decisions ensured that the content mirrored the evolving concerns of readers, enabling 'the Nautical' to remain popular for nearly two centuries. It is a fascinating source of data, news and opinions for maritime, economic and social historians, genealogists, and shipping enthusiasts.

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46 results in Cambridge Library Collection - The Nautical Magazine

Page 2 of 3

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1842
  • Various Authors
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    28 February 2013
    First published in:
    1842
  • The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions, and on current affairs. The 1842 volume focuses strongly on China in the context of the First Opium War; the December issue reports the terms of the Treaty of Nanking, which ceded Hong Kong to the British. Books reviewed include John Lee Scott's account (also available in the Cambridge Library Collection) of his shipwreck and imprisonment in China during the war. The volume also includes descriptions of Japan, the Seychelles, Rio de Janeiro and New Zealand, and an article on the improvement of the Thames, together with a detailed essay on the evils of tobacco, and health advice for Europeans in Africa.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1858
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    28 March 2013
    First published in:
    1858
  • The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. The 1858 volume carries an obituary for Sir Francis Beaufort, the influential hydrographer who was the editor's commander and mentor. The newly laid transatlantic cable features prominently: September's issue reports, 'We are now receiving from Newfoundland accurately, with perfect signals, at the rate of one hundred words per hour', and mentions the Queen and the US President exchanging telegrams, but the October issue announces that the cable has failed. Other topics covered include the Western capture of Canton and treaty with China, the lighthouses of Lake Superior, an improved anemometer design, the Russian navy, naval recruitment and Queen Victoria's visit to Cherbourg.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1856
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    28 February 2013
    First published in:
    1856
  • The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. The 1856 volume is still overshadowed by the aftermath of the disastrous Franklin expedition to navigate the North-West Passage; ironically, the Suez Canal proposed by de Lesseps, and the possibility of a Panama canal, also feature prominently. Another report discusses a projected telegraph to the Middle East and India, while an account of a voyage to the Crimea comments that 'Gallipoli … has little to recommend it'. Other topics covered include the sailing times of Atlantic packets and steamers, the Pacific and Indian oceans, Sydney docks, Aboriginal culture and awards received by the editor in recognition of his invention of an 'artificial horizon'.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1849
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    28 February 2013
    First published in:
    1849
  • The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. The 1849 volume contains regular updates on the search for Sir John Franklin, missing in the Arctic since 1845. April's issue reports the government's sending of supplies and offering a reward of £20,000 for Franklin's rescue. Lady Franklin's appeal to the American President and his response appear in July, and in December Sir James Ross reports on his unsuccessful search, during which he even fitted roaming Arctic foxes with collars stating the location of supplies and a boat. Other contributions include information on Vancouver Island, East and South-East Asia, and Pacific languages, along with a review of an essay on the Kraken.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1848
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    28 February 2013
    First published in:
    1848
  • The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. The 1848 volume devotes considerable space to the Arctic, and particularly mentions Sir James Ross, who, having recently published an account of his voyage to the Antarctic (also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection), came out of retirement to lead the first search party for Sir John Franklin. It also contains lists of hurricanes in the West Indies since European settlement, information on lighthouses and a serialised feature on Madeira. Other coverage includes reports of piracy and murder, gruesome sentences handed down by courts martial, the meeting of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bombay and vocabulary from a Micronesian language.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1854
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    28 February 2013
    First published in:
    1854
  • The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. The 1854 volume records the grant of an annuity to the widow and daughter of the famous hydrographer of the Australian coast, Matthew Flinders, forty years after his death, and a summary of Flinders' achievements. Later in the volume, the fate of Sir John Franklin (who had served as a midshipman under Flinders) is reported; other Arctic coverage includes an essay on the 'Western Esquimaux'. A major focus is the Crimean War: the Black Sea, the Ottoman and French fleets, the declaration of war and extracts from despatches from Balaclava. West Africa and the Portuguese African colonies also feature.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1861
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    28 March 2013
    First published in:
    1861
  • The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. The 1861 volume has a strong East Asian focus, and includes a description of the tragic destruction of Beijing's Summer Palace. Scientific articles cover the previous year's solar eclipse, an earthquake and tsunami, and recent advances in geology (ranging from the work of Sedgwick and Lyell, who also feature in the Cambridge Library Collection, to Murchison's research that enabled him to recognise gold-bearing rocks from Australia). An essay on the French navy (translated from the French) aims to shed light on a possible threat, and a list of naval promotions includes the magazine editor's appointment as Rear-Admiral of the Blue.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1851
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    28 February 2013
    First published in:
    1851
  • The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. The volume for 1851 features several pieces about the Arctic, including descriptions of Baffin Bay and Labrador, and reviews of two books describing the searches for Sir John Franklin's lost expedition to the North-West Passage. The content also includes the East India mail schedules, a bloodthirsty 'journal of a Russian privateer' and the final parts of the 'Turkish for Tars' course begun the previous year. There is an unusual foray into ancient history, describing Julius Caesar's expedition to England, and an advertising feature promoting a preserved potato product ideal for ships' provisions, a precursor of modern 'instant mash'.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1865
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    28 March 2013
    First published in:
    1865
  • The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. The 1865 volume devotes much attention to cable-laying, particularly the East Indian cable project and the Atlantic efforts involving the Great Eastern. Reports from around the world include navigational information about the coast of Queensland, details of a new daily time signal at Melbourne (soon to be triggered by electricity) and of a new religious movement among the New Zealand Maori, as well as a serialised account of a voyage to the Mariana Islands. Other articles discuss iron ships, naval movements, wrecks and lifeboats, and new railway and shipping services. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln is also reported.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1853
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    28 February 2013
    First published in:
    1853
  • The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. The 1853 volume saw the arrival of a co-publisher, J. D. Potter (an established agent for Admiralty charts), and a move to a new printer associated with Potter, Walter Spiers. It contains articles on China, the Indus, Melbourne and the commercial regulations of Rio de Janeiro. The Antigua hurricane and a meteorological conference at Brussels also feature, as does a treatment for yellow fever. Reports of Robert McClure's long and challenging Arctic expedition in the Investigator dominate the November and December issues, and book reviews include William Kennedy's account of the Prince Albert's voyage in search of Sir John Franklin.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1839
  • Various Authors
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    28 February 2013
    First published in:
    1839
  • The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. The 1839 volume includes coverage of the competition for the design of a Nelson memorial. It reveals that the editor was unimpressed with the shortlist and strongly disliked the eventual winner, which still stands in Trafalgar Square. Other topics include naval promotions, births, marriages and deaths, a short history of Antarctic exploration timed to coincide with the departure of the Ross expedition, reports of anti-slavery measures, and analysis of steamship accidents and their causes. The volume also continues the editor's campaign for lightning conductors on board all Navy vessels, a measure finally implemented in 1869, and provides information about new lighthouses.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1863
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    28 March 2013
    First published in:
    1863
  • The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. The 1863 volume contains further instalments of the 1862 features on South-East Asia and Australia, as well as reports from Japan. It describes the Suez Canal works, and de Lesseps' 'beautifully organised' establishment with 'workshops and steam appliances on a very large scale', and notes that 'the great question of an Atlantic electric cable appears to be again revived', with Captain R. Hoskyn now in charge. It also reproduces the presidential address of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, which mentions recent progress in the field of railways and steamships, and the work of Lyell and Darwin.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1867
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    28 March 2013
    First published in:
    1867
  • The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. The 1867 volume features numerous pieces of verse about the disasters of the previous year, including the wreck of the London and a fire at the Crystal Palace. It describes hurricanes, an iceberg collision, volcanic eruptions and a tsunami, as well as a fatal shipwreck in Cornwall that inspired the funding of a lifeboat. It also reports on a yacht race from New York to Cowes, the aftermath of the Jamaican rebellions, a route to China via the Irrawaddy River and the discovery of a mid-ocean ridge in the Pacific, suggesting the possibility of laying a submarine cable to Honolulu.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1869
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    28 March 2013
    First published in:
    1869
  • The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. The 1869 volume marks the completion of the Suez Canal, describing a voyage through it by canoe and, later, the grand opening in the presence of royalty and Christian and Islamic religious leaders. It also celebrates the installation of lightning conductors throughout the British fleet after a thirty-five-year campaign to eliminate lightning-related deaths, injuries and damage. Other articles discuss the welfare of seamen, the responsibilities of ships' officers and shipowners, voyages to East Asia and Australasia, the geography of South America, the laying of the French transatlantic cable and the completion of the Pacific Railroad from New York to San Francisco.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1866
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    28 March 2013
    First published in:
    1866
  • The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. A recurring topic in the 1866 volume is the recent massacres in Jamaica, following which, the magazine complains, naval personnel were unreasonably required to administer harsh punishments to black people without due legal process. Another major feature stresses the need for seamen to be encouraged by the authorities to adopt a respectable lifestyle, improve their education and save for pensions and life assurance. Other articles focus on Japan, reports of piracy in the China seas, tea clippers and steam mailships. The volume also reports the successful laying of the Atlantic cable and the idea of a tunnel between England and France.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1862
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    28 March 2013
    First published in:
    1862
  • The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. The 1862 volume focuses on the Asia-Pacific region, with articles on Micronesia and on voyages from Singapore to Saigon and Melbourne. It also features telegraph projects in the Crimea and the Bering Strait, a proposed cable from Ireland to Newfoundland and a planned trans-Canadian transport link which would use inland waterways for most of the way. The volume reports on the Slave Trade Treaty between Britain and the United States, and the new Merchant Shipping Act. Particularly unusual is a description of a balloon ascent to a height of five miles by a staff member of the Royal Observatory.

The Nautical Magazine for 1836
  • Various Authors
  • Published online:
    05 August 2013
    Print publication:
    28 February 2013
    First published in:
    1836
  • The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. The 1836 volume shows gradual changes in the structure of individual issues, with 'Naval Chronicle' appearing as a section heading from July onwards, in a font closely resembling the title page of that earlier periodical (also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection). It contains reports of the loss of a convict ship and ensuing discussion of conditions on convict and emigrant ships, and comments on a new tonnage bill affecting the registration and taxation of ships. Other topics covered include steam power, lighthouse and harbour construction, courts martial, wreckers in France and a description of the Jagannath temple in Orissa.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1845
  • Published online:
    05 August 2013
    Print publication:
    28 February 2013
    First published in:
    1845
  • The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. The 1845 volume has a strong focus on merchant shipping, especially the welfare of merchant seamen and their families. China also receives significant coverage, including a serialised description of Shanghai. Other topics covered include international action against the slave trade and the 'lamentable failure' of the season's potato crop, which heralded Ireland's Great Famine, as well as the usual Navy reports. This volume reprints 'by request' several instalments of 'a sailor's advice to his son' from the 1833 volume, and also describes the departure in June of the ill-fated Franklin expedition, whose consequences were to dominate the journal for many years.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1841
  • Various Authors
  • Published online:
    05 August 2013
    Print publication:
    28 February 2013
    First published in:
    1841
  • The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. The volume for 1841 was the fifth in the 'enlarged series', and the journal's structure continued to evolve. China features strongly in this volume, with coverage of the ongoing First Opium War, and there are several reports from the Beagle survey in Western Australia, and from a Niger expedition, Sumatra and the Falkland Islands. James Ross, writing from Tasmania on 7 April, describes his Antarctic voyage and the naming of Mount Erebus, a 'magnificent volcano … emitting flame and smoke in splendid profusion'. Closer to home, the magazine also outlines proposals for improvements to Bristol docks, involving a certain 'Mr Brunel'.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1844
  • Published online:
    05 August 2013
    Print publication:
    28 February 2013
    First published in:
    1844
  • The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. The 1844 volume includes discussion of the building of the docks at Birkenhead, which met with great opposition from the rival port of Liverpool. Other topics covered include discipline on merchant ships, the report of the committee on shipwreck, the visit of the King of France and a description of Zanzibar. There is a fascinating scale showing how Navy provisions were calculated, and a surprising set of extracts from correspondence in which the owner of the musket ball that killed Nelson offers it to Queen Victoria, and the Queen accepts, keeping it at Windsor Castle (where it is still on display today).

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