Special focus on the era when France was the "King of Cartography".

Rare nautical charts, port plans and copperplate engravings!

From the Malaspina Expedition

Aquatint of the Corvette 'Atrevida' of the Allesandro Malaspina expedition near the Falkland Islands

Corveta Atrevida entre Bancas de nieve la noche
del 28 de Enero de 1794...
Fernando Brambila, Madrid   1798

NEW!  Rarecharts presents a selection of scarce early charts of Latin American and Caribbean ports and harbors from Spain's Direccion Hidrografia published in one of the four parts of the  "Portolano de la America Septentrional".   As such they are a rare early record of Spain's New World possessions in 1809.

Another section presents the antique copperplate ship engravings by Henri Sbonski de Passebon, galley Captain in Louis XIV's galley corps.  Passebon's fine, folio-sized engravings are drawn from first-hand experience and reflect a unique look at 17th century Mediterranean naval architecture including the galeasse, bomb ketch, polacre, saique, and galley.


 Rarecharts offers for sale a carefully selected and diverse group of antique nautical charts, nautical engravings, and scarce maritime paper artifacts aimed at those with an interest in nautical history and those with a focus on aesthetics: rare old charts, old nautical atlases, copperplate prints, rare port plans and harbor plans from the 17th, 18th and 19th centurys.   Most items are nautical antiques over 100 years old but all reflect our intense interests in maritime cartography and nautical history. 

We never sell reproductions.

Our inventory of rare antique charts is small and carefully chosen to reflect our interests and taste, which we hope you will share.

Welcome!    Chuck Ashman - Proprietor and webmaster for RareCharts.com