Sign In

- Or use -
Forgot Password Create Account
The item illustrated and described below is sold, but we have another example in stock. To view the example which is currently being offered for sale, click the "View Details" button below.
Description

Detailed sea chart of the coastlines and parts of the interior of Canada, Alaska and the Pacific, published by Nicholas Bellin in 1758.

An interesting map of the region, extending from the Asian peninsula of Kamchatka extending eastward to Baffin Bay. Recent discoveries include the Russian discoveries in 1728 and 1741. Much speculation as the approximate position of the Sea of the West (fictional) is placed on the Pacific northwest coast, as well as a note of the search for a Northwest Passage by the English. Published in Prevost's "L'Histoire Generale des Voyages".

Includes a number of interesting annotations and notes on early discoveries, including:

  • Juan de Fuca-1592
  • Martin d'Augilar-1603
  • Russian Discoveries (Behring) 1741
  • Russian Discoveries (Fyodor Luzhin) 1723
Condition Description
Minor soiling.
Reference
Kershaw, K.A. #1115.
Jacques Nicolas Bellin Biography

Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1703-1772) was among the most important mapmakers of the eighteenth century. In 1721, at only the age of 18, he was appointed Hydrographer to the French Navy. In August 1741, he became the first Ingénieur de la Marine of the Dépôt des cartes et plans de la Marine (the French Hydrographic Office) and was named Official Hydrographer of the French King.

During his term as Official Hydrographer, the Dépôt was the one of the most active centers for the production of sea charts and maps in Europe. Their output included a folio-format sea atlas of France, the Neptune Francois. He also produced a number of sea atlases of the world, including the Atlas Maritime and the Hydrographie Francaise. These gained fame and distinction all over Europe and were republished throughout the eighteenth and even in the nineteenth century.

Bellin also produced smaller format maps such as the 1764 Petit Atlas Maritime, containing 580 finely-detailed charts. He also contributed a number of maps for the 15-volume Histoire Generale des Voyages of Antoine François Prévost.

Bellin set a very high standard of workmanship and accuracy, cementing France's leading role in European cartography and geography during this period. Many of his maps were copied by other mapmakers across the continent.