This large sea chart covers Bussard's Bay and the Elizabeth Islands and is filled with coastal details, extensive soundings, notes on bottom conditions and fog bells, light houses (colored in yellow and red), and major sailing lanes are noted. George Eldridge was a former captain of a fishing boat out of Cape Cod who first began producing navigational charts in 1851. Most of the Eldridge charts were based on official U.S. Coastal Surveys, produced specifically for mariners and backed with linen for ease of use and storage. A catalogue of Eldridge's charts, published by S. Thaxer & Son, 125 State Street, is pasted down to the verso of the linen and lists 11 charts then offered for sale. These working sea charts are quite rare on the market today.

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Condition: C

Toned with some minor damp stains and edge chipping. A crack extends the entire width of the map in title with some minor loss of unengraved paper; the linen backing is not torn. Still a nice example of a 19th Century working sea chart.