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Carte du Canada ou de la Nouvelle France et des Decouvertes qui y ont étée faites...
Paris
chez l'Auteur
1703 (1708)
Size :
66 x 50 cm
Color :
Coloris original
Condition :
Très bon
Reference : 530-1
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Description
Copper engraved map with colored boundaries. Delisle's iconic map of Canada and the Great Lakes.
First published in 1703, this is the first printed map to show Detroit, only two years after its founding by Cadillac. The map extends from Maryland to the northern end of Baffin Bay, and from Greenland to the west of the Missouri River. Delisle adds new information from Joliet, Franquelin and Jesuit explorers. To the west, the region is virgin, except for Long River and Lahontan Saltwater Lake. The Baron de Lahontan's misinformation of a large river flowing to high mountains, with a large expanse of salt water beyond the mountains, has been incorporated into many maps of this period. A large block of text at left discusses Lahontan and its discoveries. The northern region is accurately described, but significant gaps in the coastline hint at ongoing explorations and the hope of a Northwest Passage.
The large title cartouche, decorated with natives and missionaries, is by N. Guerard. One of the most remarkable and influential maps of the 18th century. Tooley, (America), p. 20 #36; Schwartz, S. and Ehrenberg, R., The Mapping of America, pl. 80
DE L'ISLE, Guillaume
Guillaume Delisle (de l'Isle) (1675-1726), is one of the greatest figures of French cartography. The eldest son and pupil of the historian and geographer Claude Delisle, he entered the Academy of Sciences in 1702 to study with the astronomer Jean-Dominique Cassini. He taught geography to the young Louis XV and was the first to receive the title of Premier Géographe du Roi in 1718. Delisle is considered to be at the origin of modern cartography. One of Delisle's main contributions was to make a transition from the decorative maps of the Dutch school to a more scientific approach. He removed the ornamental elements and based his cartography on all available information. Throughout his life he constantly updated his collection of over 100 maps to reflect new discoveries. Thus, his maps give a precise overview of the state of geographic knowledge at the time. Delisle’s was the first to correct the longitudes of America, to discard the well-established fallacy of California as an island, to delineate the Mississippi Valley correctly and to introduce many new name places.