The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 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.