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 1850 volume provides extensive coverage of the ongoing search for Sir John Franklin's Arctic expedition and reprints extracts from the weekly magazine of one of the ships. The Mercantile Marine Act (1850) is reported in full and a serialised phrase book, 'Turkish for Tars', provides fascinating insights into the economic and strategic importance of Turkey at that time. Besides everyday phrases, it includes medical vocabulary, ranging from 'antimony' to 'yellow fever', and many military terms. Finally, a far-sighted writer on history compares the international wrangling over the Falkland Islands to 'the squabble of two cunning boys for a rotten apple'.
