Carte tres curieuse de la Mer du Sud, contenant des remarques nouvelles et tres utiles.. (Very curious map of the Southern Seas, containing new and very useful remarks..)

One of the largest and most magnificent world maps ever produced, this map was created by Henri Abraham Chatelain (1684-1743), a Huguenot pastor from Paris, assisted by his father and brother (both Zacharie Chatelain), for Chatelain’s "Atlas Historique, ou Nouvelle Introduction a l’Histoire, a la Chronologie et Moderne", published in Amsterdam between 1705 and 1720. Four large copperplate engravings were joined to create this superb map.

The coastlines as engraved were based on earlier charts by the eminent French cartographer Guillaume Delisle (1675-1726). Australia is a little mis-shapen and incomplete, but overall the map is relatively geographically correct for the time - except that it still shows California as an island (an outdated concept by the time of the map’s publication).

Beautifully hand-coloured, this map is a wonderful image of discovery and commerce - particularly in the New World. It is very heavily decorated with superb and somewhat eccentric engravings of cosmography, geography, history, genealogy, heraldry, medallion portraits, topography, and regional costumes, accompanied by descriptions.

This rather large map is currently framed but the quoted price is for the unframed map.

Please enquire if you are interested in the framed map: sales@antiqueprintclub.com. We can provide a picture of the framed map, with delivery details and cost.