Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
These were the shores past which William Borough (see
Confined to cabin
)
and his brother
Stephen had sailed in service with the Muscovy Company in the 16th century. Between the
islands of Novaya Zemlya (at right) and the Russian mainland below it lies a narrow chan-
nel marked 'Fretum Burrough' on this map. This refers to the brothers' discovery in 1556 of
what William called the 'Straits of Viagatz' (now the Kara Strait), which leads to the 'Tar-
tarian Sea' and the Far East. At the centre of the chart's lower edge lies Archangel, which the
Boroughs reached, enabling them to find an overland route to Moscow, to begin trade nego-
tiations with Tsar Ivan the Terrible.
This chart was not intended for navigation. It lacks information useful to mariners, such as
soundings and currents; warnings of shoals, rocks and sandbanks; and the locations of har-
bours. The space is filled instead with decorative details. Walruses eye a blowing whale at
top centre, below a boat where a hunter stands with poised harpoon. Three people bearing
baskets and a bow and arrows tramp through the Scandinavian interior. The ships, compass
roses, and ornate cartouches were designed to appeal to an audience wealthier than seamen.
The chart is a plate in the
Atlas Maritimus
of John Seller, one of the first Englishmen to chal-
lenge the 17th-century Dutch dominance of an expanding market for charts among the no-
bility and gentry of Europe. The first edition of the Atlas was published in 1675; our copy,
which formerly belonged to the Foreign Office, may come from a slightly later edition.
In his keenness to issue attractive maps quickly, Seller drew heavily upon Dutch work.
Many charts in his Atlas were made either by direct copying or by updating old copperplates
which he had acquired in Holland; both were common practices among his contemporaries.
This rare chart, however, was specially engraved by Stephen Board for Seller's English Pilot
published in 1671. The more famous Atlas Maritimus was issued on a bespoke basis, with
specific sheets such as this one added to meet customer requests. Another special service
offered to buyers was hand-tinting, which made each plate unique. In this case, we like to
think that the choice of colouring produced what may be some of the earliest images of Fath-
er Christmas.
