ESSO

Esso Cruising and Navigation Guides Esso have frequently regarded navigation guides as part of their map offering - there are probably many more European examples than shown on this page. On the right is the only known pre-war example. Dating from around 1935, it shows roads and waterways in the area around Berlin at a scale of 1:250,000, larger than the normal Luftbildkarte centred on the city.

The "Cartes des voies navigable de la Belgique" shown left is the earliest known European one from Esso. Undated, it comes from around 1950 based upon the number of oil refineries at Antwerp and the general style of the map (including an Esso logo in a compass rose). The section 502 map (right) is from a large Blondel la Rougery series covering most of the French coast in good detail. This one covers the popular resorts of Cannes & St-Tropez, and locates Esso refuelling facilities along the coast.

Four English Cruising guides from (L-R) ca 1953, ca1956, 1963 and 1965. The Norfolk Broads are wholly inland, but the Thames Estuary forms one end of a sequence of 4 guides along the English Channel, before a 5th turns up the Thames as far as Lechlade. The most westerly map is Land's End to Swanage, shown immediately left; uniquely on British maps this shows an Esso refuelling point - in Torbay.

Esso also issued a smaller scale map of the entire English Channel that included both the English South and French North coasts. Except for the Norfolk Broads map, they are only found in the smaller top fold format with black on blue line drawings. Norfolk Broads has five cover styles using two basic pictures, the first three of which are side folded and the earliest of which has slightly different cartography. A 1966 Esso brochure shows the six maps with the later white top/narrow red strip style of cover, but none have ever been found. If you have one, then please let me know!

Images and details courtesy Stan DeOrsey

In 1964 Dansk Esso A/S published a 215 page hardback atlas of the waters around Denmark. After a lengthy introductory section, there are 41 pages of area maps, 143 pages of harbours of all sizes (such as the small port of Ballen, right) and many pages at the end covering everything from weather to radios, etc. All text is in Danish, English and German in triplicate on each page: for example the Ballen information notes that Esso gas-oil is available on the quay, but that in strong NE winds the outer harbour may become choppy.

Left is a 1960 "scheepvaartkaart" of the Netherlands, at 1:387,000 from Topografische Dienst, marking all Esso bunkering locations and distinguishing navigation channels by maximum tonnage. The most recent known Esso navigation map is this Bunker Service map of Benelux. The map (and rear cover) includes thumbnail images of all 17 Esso bunker stations in the two countries. The map uses computer cartography by Geocart at a scale of 1:450,000. No roads are shown on either map.

The next (and final) page of this Esso sequence looks at some of the other leaflets and brochures issued in the heyday of the Esso Touring Service.