Nautical Charts

SURVEYING STEAMER FATHOMER IN MANILA BAY. ( Frontispiece )
G. R. PUTNAM, M.S.
MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS DIRECTOR OF COAST SURVEYS, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900 TO 1906
FIRST EDITION FIRST THOUSAND
NEW YORK JOHN WILEY & SONS London: CHAPMAN & HALL, Limited 1908

Copyright, 1908, by G. R. PUTNAM
Stanhope Press
F. H. GILSON COMPANY BOSTON, U.S.A.

In preparing the material for a lecture on Charts for Columbia University, the writer was impressed with the fact that although nautical charts are mentioned or discussed in many publications, there was not found any one which covered the general subject of their origin, construction, and use. In the countries of the world more than a million copies of such charts are now issued annually. A considerable portion of the human race is interested directly or indirectly, whether as mariners or passengers or shippers, in navigation upon the sea. Aside from supplying a handbook for those who might have a general interest in the subject, it was thought that a discussion of charts might lead to further consideration of the principles governing their construction.
This paper has intentionally been made as non-technical as seemed feasible in treating a somewhat technical subject. The writer is indebted to the Coast and Geodetic Survey for various illustrative material from its archives, and to a number of authors for facts or suggestions. A list is appended of books and papers which have been freely consulted, bearing on this and related subjects.