|
||
|
|
|
|
Rare oversized map by Clouet, illustrating the discoveries in the Pacific and along the NW Coast of America. The primary map still shows the Bay of the West, but with a tentative coastline reflecting knowledge of the Russian Discoveries in North America. In the Pacific, the tracts of a number of early explorers are shown, including Quiros, Mendana, Le Maire, Cook, Fourneaux, Magellan, and Antoine. An interesting inset in the lower left illustrates the contemporary debate between those who believed that a large Archipelago existing in the North Pacific and the older Bay of the West theories. Clouet's oversized maps are highly sought after for their decorative quality. A nice example in rich colors. One of the scarcest of all Bay of the West maps.
Jean-Baptiste Louis Clouet (1730-ca. 1790) was a mapmaker with premises in both Paris and Cadiz. He was eventually named Royal Geographer of the Academie des Sciences de Rouen. Although he made several lavish wall maps, he is best known for Geographie Moderne (1776-93).
