Carta del Canal Viejo de Bahama

Chart of the Old Bahama Channel according to the most reliable national and foreign works. A scarce large-format nautical chart, published in Madrid in 1866, engraved and produced by the Hydrographic Directorate of Spain. It highlights the challenges of navigation in the Old Bahama Channel, the strategic seaway between the Bahamas and Cuba used by most of the ships travelling from the Gulf of Mexico towards Europe. Soundings, hazards, shoals and other crucial navigation information are recorded throughout the chart. It was compiled by José Riudavets y Monjó, a Spanish draughtsman and illustrator from Mallorca who joined the Spanish Hydrographic Institute at the age of 17. Nautical charts were essential tools aboard ships and were often annotated with navigation notes. After the publication of updated charts, the old versions were generally discarded quickly, which explains their current scarcity (WorldCat/OCLC appears to record only one digital copy of this chart).