The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1837

The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. The year 1837 marked a relaunch of the publication: ‘Naval Chronicle’ was added to the title of the ‘new series’. The layout became more economical, with narrower margins and fewer illustrations, and a new subheading of ‘law proceedings’ gave a new emphasis to this category of material. The content includes news of naval personnel, descriptions of coastlines and harbours from Wales to Australia, an account of the 1831 voyage of the Beagle (mentioning the geological fieldwork of ‘Mr Charles Darwin, a zealous volunteer in the cause of science’), and reports of Havana pirates and of a fatal case of snakebite in Cornwall.