CARTE DES CINQ GRANDS LACS DU CANADA
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Scarce and sought after edition of Bellin's map of the Great Lakes and quite possibly the earliest use of the term "Great Lakes" on a printed map.
Bellin's map is the first map to show the imaginary islands of Philippeaux and Pontchartrain in Lake Superior, later used to draw the post-Revolutionary War US-Canada border. It also shows a curious elevated plateau in the Michigan Peninsula. Despite these misconceptions, Bellin's rendering of the Great Lakes was the most accurate yet published, and it remains one of the most striking depictions of the region.
Printed on heavy paper, wide margins
Excelle"nt hand colour
Very good condition
REF Goss, J., The Mapping of North America: Three Centuries of Map-Making 1500-1860, no. 56. Kershaw, K. A., Early Printed Maps of Canada, no. 947. Karpinski, L. C., Bibliography of the Printed Maps of Michigan, 1804-1880, p. 137. Schwartz, S. and Ehrenberg, R., The Mapping of America, p.162
code : M4292
Cartographer : Jacques-Nicolas BELLIN
Date : 1764 Paris
Size : 23*34 cms
availability : Sold
Price : Sold
Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1703-1772) was one of the most important and prolific French cartographers of the mid-eighteenth century, in the service of the French Hydrographical Office. He was appointed the first Ingenieur Hydrographe de la Marine, and also Official Hydrographer to the French King.
Bellin was responsible for an enormous output of charts and maps. In a large folio format, he issued a volume of sea-charts of France, the Neptune Francois, and several sea-atlases of the World, including the Atlas Maritime and the Hydrographie Francaise. These large charts were amongst the best of the period and continued being reissued throughout the second half of the eighteenth century.
In smaller format, he issued the Petit Atlas Maritime (1764),which contained 580 detailed charts, as well as maps to illustrate l'Abbe Prevost's Histoire Generale des Voyages (1746-1757). Bellin also produced a substantial number of important separately issued maps, particularly reflecting continuing discoveries and political events in the Americas.
