Chart of the North Sea Comprising All the Modern Surveys Drawn by J.S. Hobbs.

A fine antique working nautical chart of the North Sea by Norie, published in London in 1866. It was published by Charles Wilson (Late J.W. Norie and Wilson).
The seller’s original red label reads “NORTH SEA FROM LONDON TO DRONTHEIM”. The North Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean located between Great Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.
The huge chart (3’ x 5’) features seven inserts including entrances to Aberdeen, River Tax & Dundee, Shields Bar, Drontheim, Christiansud and Bergen as well as an instruction insert “Remarks on Navigation of the North Sea”.

The chart was printed on three sheets and joined. Originally, it was backed by blue paper to provide the needed strength to withstand hard usage at sea. The backing paper was damaged from use and was removed. The seller’s red label is attached to the map and still has the blue back sample.
This was a working chart actually used on a ship. A single sheet chart was easier to use and it was possible for publishers to issue updated versions of a single chart more regularly. Thus it is that most of the charts actually used on ships over the years have been separately issued, single sheet charts. These were usually rolled with a distinctive blue paper (giving them the name “bluebacks”.)
Few of these charts survived. First, any sheet of paper being used on board a ship at sea was often subject to damage or even destruction. As well, it has always been considered important to destroy any out-of-date chart in case someone inadvertently might use it.
An out-of-date chart can be extremely dangerous for ship and crew, so most were destroyed as soon as updated charts became available. Norie's sea charts of similar large size for other locations currently sell in the $2,000 to $9,500 range.

John William Norie (1772-1843), was a mathematician, hydrographer, chart maker and publisher of nautical books most famous for his Epitome of Practical Navigation (1805) which became a standard work on navigation and went through many editions as did many of Norie's works.
This sea chart is rare. I have not found another copy featuring “The Total North Sea” on the Internet, nor can I find historical prices.