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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 3 of 3

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1847
  • Published online:
    05 August 2013
    Print publication:
    28 February 2013
    First published in:
    1847
  • 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 1847 volume has a strong Australasian focus, describing the already near-extinct New Zealand kakapo, the costume of one of the principal Maori chiefs and, in unflattering terms, the port of Auckland. Books reviewed include Joseph Beete Jukes' account of his surveying voyage to the Torres Strait and Sir John Barrow's autobiography (both available in the Cambridge Library Collection). There are articles on the Arctic and the Amazon (the latter translated from French), an essay on designs by Trevithick and others for steam engines and a piece congratulating Captain Becher (the magazine's editor) on his recently invented 'artificial horizon'.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1846
  • Published online:
    05 August 2013
    Print publication:
    28 February 2013
    First published in:
    1846
  • 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 1846 volume includes reports on tribal warfare in New Zealand and a review of John Lort Stokes' book Discoveries in Australia (also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection), describing the Beagle voyage. Mexico and the Baltic also feature prominently, and the second report of the Tidal Harbours Commission, of which Sir Francis Beaufort was a member, is given full coverage. The wreck reports are particularly poignant, including a captain unable to save his young daughter, while fascinating short notes record the transport of camels to start a breeding program in Bolivia, November meteorites and a shower of frogs over the Humber.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1837
  • Various Authors
  • Published online:
    05 August 2013
    Print publication:
    28 February 2013
    First published in:
    1837
  • 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 year 1837 marked a relaunch of the publication: 'Naval Chronicle' was added to the title of the 'new series'. The layout became more economical, with narrower margins and fewer illustrations, and a new subheading of 'law proceedings' gave a new emphasis to this category of material. The content includes news of naval personnel, descriptions of coastlines and harbours from Wales to Australia, an account of the 1831 voyage of the Beagle (mentioning the geological fieldwork of 'Mr Charles Darwin, a zealous volunteer in the cause of science'), and reports of Havana pirates and of a fatal case of snakebite in Cornwall.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1840
  • Various Authors
  • Published online:
    05 August 2013
    Print publication:
    28 February 2013
    First published in:
    1840
  • 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. Alongside regular items on wrecks, harbours and lighthouses, naval personnel and law proceedings, the 1840 volume notes Queen Victoria's marriage. The Pacific region features strongly, with reports on the ongoing voyage of the Beagle around Australia, an ethnological article on the Maori (including descriptions of the haka and the 'almost amphibious' swimming of the women), and a brief note on the departure of 'a great number of emigrants' to New Zealand on board the Coromandel. Other contributions include Dumont d'Urville's account of his second Antarctic voyage, essays on China and Mozambique, and scientific work on electricity, magnetism and scurvy.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1838
  • Various Authors
  • Published online:
    05 August 2013
    Print publication:
    28 February 2013
    First published in:
    1838
  • 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 1838 volume, the second of the 'new series', reports the official plan for the voyage of the Astrolabe and the Zelée, scheduled to depart that September to 'the Antarctic Pole', and the ongoing third voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, to Australia. Alongside regular items on wrecks, harbours and lighthouses, naval personnel, and law proceedings, the coronation of Queen Victoria is briefly mentioned. Other contributions include an article on Icelandic geysers by John Barrow, instructions for preserving plant specimens, descriptions of Pitcairn Island, poisonous serpents, pirates and mutiny, and an energetic polemic against animal magnetism and homeopathy.

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1843
  • Published online:
    05 August 2013
    Print publication:
    28 February 2013
    First published in:
    1843
  • 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 1843 includes substantial data sets relating to 'bottle charts', on which oceanic currents were recorded by comparing the time and place bottles were thrown overboard with when and where they were later found. A brief verse found in a bottle after a shipwreck is also printed. Books reviewed include Frederick William Beechey's A Voyage of Discovery towards the North Pole (also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection), and the correspondence pages refer to a discussion between the editor, Commander Becher, and his superior, Beaufort, about whether serving naval officers should be allowed to contribute copy to the journal.

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