126

(SOUTHEAST ASIA.)

James Horsburgh, hydrographer; and John Bateman, engraver.

To the Hon.ble The Court of Directors of the United East India Company This Chart Intended as an Accompaniment to the Book of Directions for Navigating to, from, and in the East Indies is Inscribed by Their Faithful and Most Obliged Servant.

London, 12th February, 1813
Engraved marine chart of Kolkata, coastal Bangladesh, Myanmar, the Malay Peninsula, western Indonesia, Indochina, and Hainan Island. 38x25 inches overall, dissected into four segments and mounted on period canvas; folds, wear, and major staining; heavily annotated in ink and graphite. 

The manuscript tracks and triangulations coupled with the soiled and battered condition provide certain evidence that this chart was well-used and consulted during many American sailing expeditions to and throughout the region. 

Captioned courses range from November 1816, August 1826, July 1827, with many dates in the 1830s-1840s, and a few in the 1850s. Circulation of ships include travels in 1827 of the Rajah to Batavia from Paday, 1828 the Malay to Sumatra from Batavia, 1835 the Nabob to Calcutta, 1836 the Nabob from Calcutta to Boston, 1841 the Jessoro from New York to Singapore, and other routes of vessels called the Hull, and Crusoe. 

Captain George Washington Putnam (1803 Danvers, MA – 1862 York, ME) on the verso describes in early ink manuscript the routes of passage offered here and calls it "An excellent chart".  Putnam captained the above-mentioned merchant vessels throughout the decades of the early nineteenth century and many contemporary newspaper articles report their comings and goings. 

In June 1828 Putnam was accused and tried in Boston for the murder of a crew member aboard the Rajah on its return to Massachusetts from Batavia but he was easily found innocent of the crime – "The two first witnesses testified against the accused, but their testament was materially contradicted by the other two, and it appeared by other witnesses who were produced, that there had been a conspiracy and combination between the first two witnesses against the captain and mate. It was abundantly proved that Capt. Putnam was not only an able and skilful commander, but was remarkable for his amiable disposition, kind and humane feelings; and it appeared so evident that there was no foundation for the charge, that the case was submitted to the jury without argument, and after an able and eloquent charge by Judge Story, they returned a verdict of not guilty, without leaving their seats" – United States Gazette, Tuesday June 17, 1828.

"Captain George W. Putnam, of the ship Crusoe, of Salem, has written home to his owners a minute account of the late destructive hurricane at Manilla, in which that vessel, among others, was wrecked" - United States Gazette, Tuesday March 27, 1832. 

Meeting with King Leopold of Belgium while the Nabob was docked at Antwerp, Putnam describes the visit: " He admired the Nabob, said she was the finest vessel in the dock. The bird's eye maple struck his fancy, and he was astonished when I told him she had so recently left Canton, New York, and Charleston, and that she carried over 700 tons. He drank a glass of wine with me and thanked me for my attention" "The Nabob left Canton on the 18th of December last, for New York, where a cargo, consisting of 13,000 packages was discharged – proceeded from thence to Charleston, S.C. and took a full cargo of cotton for Antwerp – delivered it, and sailed from Antwerp the 29th of June! This is a remarkable instance of despatch – and might well excite the admiration of the Belgian King" – Boston Post, Saturday August 9, 1834. 

Captain Putnam enjoyed a long career navigating merchant ships between America and Southeast Asia, successfully transporting untold quantities of goods across the seas. The present chart is an incredible personal accounting of those voyages in real time, as he kept it, annotated it, and used it aboard his vessels. The printed chart itself, a British publication, is extremely detailed and provides information far superior to anything of the time, making it quite apparent why Putnam valued it so well during this important period of American commercial expansion. 

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