With Detailed Maps of the East -- Including An Extra Map
The Directory offers a comprehensive navigational manual designed to guide mariners through the complex waters of East Asia. First published in the in 1870, this monumental work provides detailed instructions for sailing from the Straits of Malacca and Sunda to key destinations such as Canton (Guangzhou), Shanghai, the Yellow Sea, and Japan. It covers a vast region, including the Straits of Malacca, Sunda, and Singapore; the east coast of Sumatra; the Gulf of Siam (modern-day Thailand); and the coasts of Cochin China (southern Vietnam), Tonkin (northern Vietnam), Borneo, and the Philippines.
In addition to these regions, the directory encompasses crucial maritime routes through the China Sea, Java, the Java Sea, and the surrounding islands. It offers vital navigational guidance for sailors approaching the coasts of China, including Hong Kong, Formosa (now Taiwan), and Shanghai, extending northwards to Korea. The text is notable for its extensive descriptions of winds, monsoons, and ocean currents, essential for successful navigation in this region's often challenging maritime conditions.
This directory also provides in-depth information on various channels, harbors, and anchorages, making it an indispensable resource for commercial and naval vessels during the height of European maritime expansion in Asia. The work is a reflection of the period’s advanced knowledge of maritime geography, combining firsthand observations with data from earlier expeditions, offering a rich historical resource for understanding 19th-century sea routes and trading patterns in the East Asian seas.
This is the second edition of the directory, which was first issued in 1870 (although the California State Library holds a copy which it dates to 1869). A third edition was issued in 1889.
Maps (folding or double-page) in the book include:
- The Indian Archipelago shewing the Lines of Equal Magnetic Variation and Dip
- China and Japan Magnetic Variation and Dip
- The Indian Archipelago shewing the Wind Systems in the S.W. and S.E. Monsoons
- The Indian Archipelago shewing the Wind Systems in the S.W. and S.E. Monsoons
- The Indian Archipelago Track Chart
- Strait of Sunda
- Straights of Singapore, Durian and Rhio
- Hong Kong
- Amoy Harbor
- Pescador Islands
- Yokohama Bay
- China and Japan Currents [this 2-page map not mentioned in contents].
Rarity
All editions are quite rare in the market.
Richard Holmes Laurie (1777-1858) was the son of mezzotint engraver Robert Laurie, who had taken over Robert Sayer's publishing house with James Whittle in 1794. Richard Holmes Laurie joined in a partnership with Whittle when his father retired in 1812. The name of the firm then switched from Laurie & Whittle to Whittle & Laurie. Whittle died in 1818, leaving Richard Holmes to continue publishing alone as R. H. Laurie.
When the Hydrographic Office opened in 1795, it was tasked with creating and producing all the nautical charts for the Royal Navy so as to wean the Navy off dependence on foreign charts. By the 1820s, private publishers were augmenting HO charts and competing with them, including Richard Holmes Laurie. Richard gave up publishing anything except nautical materials by 1830. He also sold charts to Trinity House, the lighthouse and maritime safety fraternity. He died in 1858.
The firm continued to print under the name R.H. Laurie even after 1858. Later, the firm was managed by Laurie’s draughtsman, Alexander George Findlay, and, later, Daniel and William Kettle.