1867 Admiralty Chart (No 2082) of the south coast of Africa from Table Bay to Cape Agulhas

Admiralty Chart No. 2082, Table Bay to Cape Agulhas (first issued 24 April 1867), is a large-scale coastal survey that covers the sweep of the Cape Peninsula, False Bay, and the Agulhas Bank eastward to Cape Agulhas, one of the most treacherous stretches of the South African coast. Engraved by E. Stanford at a scale of about 1:250,000, the chart is densely detailed with fathom soundings, bottom notes, shoals, banks, rocky heads, and annotated magnetic variation, while lights, beacons, and insets of Table Bay, Hout Bay, and Point Danger provide navigational focus on critical anchorages. Compiled from surveys by Lieut. Joseph Dayman (1853), Francis Skead (1858–60), and W.E. Archdeacon (post-1867), it reflects the Admiralty’s rigorous hydrography during an era when Table Bay and the Cape sea-lanes were among the busiest on the Britain–India–Australia route. Published under the Hydrographic Office during Captain G.H. Richards’s tenure as Hydrographer of the Navy, the chart coincided with major harbour works at Table Bay in the 1860s and reveals the ongoing dangers of the Agulhas Bank before modern port engineering and the Suez Canal shifted global traffic patterns. Today, Chart 2082 is valued as both a technical achievement and a vivid record of the Cape route at its mid-19th century zenith, with later states preserving how such Admiralty charts evolved as “living documents” aboard working ships.

This map is a reproduction of a historical map that is now in the public domain. It has been selected for its aesthetic appeal and historical interest and carefully restored and reproduced to preserve its original detail and character.  There may be marks and fold lines visible which add to the authentic look.  The map is printed on 230gsm heavyweight coated paper with a matte finish.  Most old maps were printed on uncoated rag or wood pulp papers and therefore a matte finish best represents the original map.