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Wonderful blueback sea chart of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, produced by James Imray and Son in London in 1888.
According to a note on the chart, the cartography of Puerto Rico was "copied from the Spanish Chart No. 155, with positions corrected from observations made by Officers of the United States Navy". Don Juan Romero of the Spanish Navy, 1863, was also credited with observations mentioned on the chart.
The chart is fantastically detailed and includes 13 inset plans titled:
- San Juan (Puerto Rico)
- Mayaguez
- Guanica
- Mona & Monito
- Sombrero I.
- Road Harbour
- Gorda Sound
- S.E. End of Culebra
- Sketch of the East Coast of Puerto Rico by Don Jose de Lanuza y Barcelo, 1884
- [Crab Passage]
- Ponce
- Christianstaed
- St. Thomas Harbour
Rarity
No copies of this map are recorded as having been on the market by OldMaps.com nor RBH, though the former shows a different edition for sale on eBay over 20 years ago.
OCLC records a single 1890 edition (an update of this edition) at Boston Public Library. Two 1870s editions (really, a different map) appear in Harvard and the National Library of Wales, respectively.
James Imray was a publisher specialized in nautical charts. He started one of the most successful blue-back chart-selling companies of the nineteenth century; it is still in business today. Imray’s father was a dyer and he was born in Spitalfields, London, an area known for its garment industry. James did not want to enter the garment trade, however, and instead apprenticed to Stationer William Lukyn in 1818. Imray began his business as a book publisher and seller; however, he shared premises with Robert Blachford, a chartseller. Imray entered into business with Robert’s successor, Michael. He turned the business into a success and bought Blachford out in 1846, publishing under the imprint of James Imray. In 1854, son James Frederick joined as a partner and the imprint changed to Imray & Son. They thrived thanks to targeted marketing and excellent compilation charts that focused on trade routes. The busines entered in a long decline after the death of James Sr. in 1870. In 1899, Imray & Son amalgamated with Norie & Wilson. This conglomerate was bought by the Laurie firm in 1904 and today the business trades as Imray, Laurie, Norie & Wilson.
![[Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands]](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/82657.jpg)
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![[ Virgin Islands ] Anguilla to Porto Rico Shewing the Approaches to the Virgin Islands](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/86323.jpg)
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