This large beautifully engraved early & important original antique map of the east coast of Tasmania as surveyed by the Baudin expedition in 1802 - from Cape Portland to Maingon Bay - was engraved by Charles Bouclet in 1802 - the date is engraved in the title cartouche - and was published in the 1812 Ist edition of Voyage de descouvertes aux Terres Australes by Louis Freycinet. This was the largest and most detailed map of Tasmania published up to this time.

The map contains 3 inset maps two of which shows early cartographic details of Van Diemens land by Abel Tasman in 1642 & the English explorer Tobias Furneaux in 1773. The third inset is a map of part of the North River surveyed by Freycinet in 1802.

After returning from the first expedition on Le Naturaliste and Le Geographe Louis Freycinet returned to Australia on La Casuarina and aided by Boullanger explored Northern Tasmania and the southern coast of Australia. This and earlier voyages resulted in the publication of Voyage de descouvertes aux Terres Australes in 1812.

Louis Claude Desaulces de Freycinet (1779-1842) was a French marine officer and explorer, who participated in several significant early 19th-century expeditions to relatively unknown areas in the southern hemisphere. In 1800, he joined one of the most important early explorations of Australia, which was commissioned by the French government and commanded by Nicholas Baudin (1754-1803). On this voyage, which included stops in Mauritius and Tasmania, Freycinet served as a surveyor and was responsible for conducting a thorough cartographic survey of the Australian coast. Upon returning to France years later, he completed a detailed account of the journey begun by the naturalist Françis Péron that was published as Voyage de decouvertes aux Terres Australes between 1807 and 1816.

In 1817, Freycinet embarked on the Uranie on a major scientific expedition around the world to record information regarding the geography, meteorology, terrestrial magnetism, ethnology, and indigenous flora and fauna of various locations in the southern hemisphere. Accompanied by the talented artist Jacques Arago, he explored the Sandwich Islands, the Hawaii Islands as well as Rio de Janeiro, the Cape of Good Hope, Tonga, Gibraltar, Tenerife, Mauritius, Timor, Tierra del Fuego, Montevideo, Mauritius, New South Wales, and the Caroline Islands. After being shipwrecked near the Falklands, Freycinet eventually returned to Paris on the Physicienne in 1820, where he published a comprehensive illustrated account of the expedition in a colossal thirteen-volume work entitled Voyage Autor de Monde. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color: - off white
Age of map color: - 
Colors used: - 
General color appearance: - 
Paper size: - 38in x 26in (965mm x 600mm)
Plate size: - 31 1/2in x 21 1/2in (800mm x 545mm)
Margins: - Min 2in (50mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - Light age toning, repair to top margin
Plate area: - Light age toning
Verso: - Light age toning

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