John Hamilton Moore (1738 – 1807)
was a teacher of navigation, hydrographer and chart-seller. He was born in Edinburgh, educated in Ireland before joining the Royal Navy in Plymouth.
In 1770 he set up a Nautical Academy in Brentford, Middlesex. In 1772 Moore published the textbook „The New Practical Navigator and Daily Assistant“ which became very popular and ran into some 17 editions. In 1778 Moore wrote „A New and Complete Collection of Voyages and Travels“, describing those of Cook, Drake, Magellan and other great explorers.
Personally Moore was known to be boastful and somewhat controversial. He apparently once described himself as „having a propensity for genius“. In the 1790s he started calling himself „Hydrographer and Chartmaker to his Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence“. It is unclear whether or not his claim was based on fact but Moore‘s many enemies in the chart publishing industry called him out on the matter, declaring him a „Pretender“. Either way, Moore dropped this claim by 1804 and passed away three years later. In the obituary „The Gentleman’s Magazine“ dedicated to him a high praise:
„He caused the best charts to be published that have ever been done by any individual in this or any other nation“.
Map Details
The map is taken from John Hamilton Moore‘s book „A New and Complete Collection of Voyages and Travels“, first published by Alexander Hogg in 1785 but re-issued several times later, this one dates from 1808.
The title is written without a cartouche in the lower right corner. The map covers Scandinavia, Russia, the Baltic region, Prussia and the northern part of Germany, including Iceland in a pentagonal inset in the upper left corner. However, the focus is on the Nordic countries; the neighbouring countries are not depicted, only mentioned with very few place-names. „Russia“ is to be found twice: east of Finland and in the Baltic region.
Underneath the inset are a distance scale and a compass rose. The Arctic Circle is depicted quite correctly but in Iceland it is too far south.
„Iceland“ is written above the map. The depiction is dominated by mountain ranges.
There are only few place-names along the coastline and only five in the interior of Iceland: the bishoprics Skalholt and Holar (without church symbols), the volcano Hekla with an eruption, a lake in the North named „L.Fiske“ (probably Myvatn) and „Nid“ (?)
The island of Grimsey is completely missing.