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Description : |
This
large
beautifully
hand coloured original antique & important early map of
The Great Lakes & the
Northern Mississippi
- with descriptive French text surrounding the map - was
published by
Henri
Abraham
Chatelain in 1719, in
his famous
Atlas Historique.
Background: Finely
coloured example of this remarkable map of The Great
Lakes, Canada and the Course of the Mississippi,
extending south to the Missouri River.
This map is one of the best obtainable compilations of
the locations of the various French Missions, Forts, and
French and Indian settlements during the period, and
also depicts significant river crossing locations,
portages and other essential travel information in the
region. The search for the water route to the Pacific is
still very much alive in the reports of this map,
although no definitive route is shown as clearly open.
The map provides one of the most interesting depictions
of the Upper Mississippi River during the time period,
derived from Jolliet's rare map and report. In 1663,
the French embarked on a westward expansion policy,
initially focused on locating the Mississippi River,
whose existence was known through Indian reports. Louis
Jolliet, a fur trader and explorer, and Jacques
Marquette, a Jesuit father led an overland expedition to
the west, which left Green Bay in May 1673.
After following the courses of the Fox and Wisconsin
Rivers, the expedition reached the upper Mississippi.
Continuing south, they discovered the mouths of the
Missouri, Ohio, and Arkansas Rivers. On the return
trip, they found a short cut to Lake Michigan by
following the Illinois and Des Plaines Rivers to a
portage at Chicago. Several manuscript maps survive
based on the discoveries of Jolliet and Marquette, with
this first printed version being adapted for inclusion
in Thevenot’s Recueil des Voyages (Paris, 1681).
Thevenot's map shows for the first time on a printed map
the Mississippi and its tributaries north of the
Arkansas based on first-hand observation. The depiction
of the river between the Arkansas and the gulf is based
on speculation. It was also the first map to include the
place name Michigan or Mitchigami. The present map
extends south to the Ouabach River.
Henri Abraham Chatelain
(1684 - 1743)
was a Huguenot pastor of Parisian origins. He lived
consecutively in Paris, St. Martins, London (c. 1710),
the Hague (c. 1721) and Amsterdam (c. 1728).
Chatelain was a skilled artist and knew combining a
wealth of historical and geographical information with
delicate engraving and an uncomplicated composition.
Groundbreaking for its time, this work included studies
of geography, history, ethnology, heraldry, and
cosmography. His maps with his elegant engraving are a
superb example from the golden age of French
mapmaking.The publishing firm of Chatelain, Chatelain
Frères and Chatelain & Fils is recorded in Amsterdam,
from around 1700-1770, with Zacharias living "op den
Dam" in 1730.
Henri Abraham Chatelain, his father Zacharie Chatelain
(d.1723) and Zacharie Junior (1690-1754), worked as a
partnership publishing the Atlas Historique, Ou Nouvelle
Introduction à L'Histoire under several different
Chatelain imprints, depending on the Chatelain family
partnerships at the time of publication. The atlas was
published in seven volumes between 1705 and 1720, with a
second edition appearing in 1732. The volumes I-IV with
a Third edition and volume I with a final edition in
1739.
Henri Abraham Chatelain, whose "Atlas Historique" was
one of the most expansive Dutch encyclopedias of the
age. First published in 1705, Chatelain's Atlas
Historique was part of an immense seven-volume
encyclopedia. Although the main focus of the text was
geography, the work also included a wealth of
historical, political, and genealogical information. The
text was compiled by Nicholas Gueudeville and Garillon
with a supplement by H.P. de Limiers and the maps were
engraved by Chatelain, primarily after charts by De
L'Isle. The atlas was published in Amsterdam between
1705 and 1721 and was later reissued by Zacharie
Chatelain between 1732 and 1739.
Atlas Historique:
First published in Amsterdam from 1705 to 1720, the
various volumes were updated at various times up to 1739
when the fourth edition of vol.I appeared, stated as the
"dernière edition, corrigée & augmentée."
The first four volumes seem to have undergone four
printings with the later printings being the most
desirable as they contain the maximum number of
corrections and additions. The remaining three final
volumes were first issued between 1719-1720 and revised
in 1732.
An ambitious and beautifully-presented work, the Atlas
Historique was intended for the general public,
fascinated in the early eighteenth century by the
recently conquered colonies and the new discoveries.
Distant countries, such as the Americas, Africa, the
Middle East, Mongolia, China, Japan, Indonesia, etc.,
take an important place in this work.
In addition to the maps, many of which are based on
Guillaume De L'Isle, the plates are after the best
travel accounts of the period, such as those of Dapper,
Chardin, de Bruyn, Le Hay and other.
Other sections deal with the history of the european
countries, and covers a wide range of subjects including
genealogy, history, cosmography, topography, heraldry
and chronology, costume of the world, all illustrated
with numerous engraved maps, plates of local inhabitants
and heraldic charts of the lineages of the ruling
families of the time. The maps, prints and tables
required to make up a complete set are listed in detail
in each volume.
The accompanying text is in French and often is printed
in two columns on the page with maps and other
illustrations interspersed. Each map and table is
numbered consecutively within its volume and all maps
bear the privileges of the States of Holland and West-Friesland.
The encyclopaedic nature of the work as a whole is
reflected in this six frontispiece. The pages are the
work of the celerated mr. Romeijn de Hooghe. and are
engraved by J.Goeree, T.Schynyoet and P.Sluyter.
New scholarship has suggested the compiler of the atlas,
who is identified on the title as "Mr. C***" not to be
Henri Abraham Châtelain, but Zacharie Châtelain. (See
Van Waning's article in the Journal of the International
Map Collectors' Society for persuasive evidence of the
latter's authorship.)
(Ref: M&B; Tooley)
General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color: - White
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Pink, green, yellow, blue
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 20in x 17 1/2in (510m x 445m)
Plate size: - 18in x 14 1/2in (460m x 370mm)
Margins: - min. 1in (25mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None
If you wish to discuss this or any other item
please email or call...Simon
61 (0) 409 551910 Tel
simon@classicalimages.com
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