Carte de la Floride, de la Louisiane, et Pays Voisins. [18th Century Map of Florida, Louisiana, and Neighboring Countries. To be used in the General History of Travel].

BELLIN, Jacques-Nicolas.

$750.00

Item Number: 138434

Rare 18th century engraved map of North America by French cartographer Jacques-Nicolas Bellin. One page, hand-colored, the map shows the French territory of Louisiane and Florida.  Labelled cities and regions include St. Augustine, Savannah, New Orleans, Santa Fe, Toronto, Detroit, Mobile, Pensacola, New Mexico, Georgia, and the Carolinas. Topographical features include Lakes Michigan, Erie, and Superior, the Savannah, Mississippi, and Missouri Rivers, and the Appalachian Mountains. Bellin also labels the locations of various Native tribes such as the Cherokees, Osages, and Apaches, as well as locations of major forts. In near fine condition. Matted and framed. The entire piece measures 21.5 inches by 19 inches.

La Louisiane (named after Louis XIV of France) became a colony of the Kingdom of France in 1682, before passing to Spain in 1763. Louisiana was formed in part of the became part of the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803. The U.S. would divide that area into two territories, the Territory of Orleans, which formed what would become the boundaries of Louisiana, and the District of Louisiana. Louisiana was admitted as the 18th state of the United States on April 30, 1812. Appointed hydrographer of the French Navy at the age of eighteen, Jacques-Nicolas Bellin was appointed Hydrographer to the King in 1741. He published numerous sea atlases and charts which would be reprinted into the nineteenth century, as well as many maps depicting French colonial territories in the New World. His craftsmanship and commitment to accuracy earned him a distinguished reputation as one of the world's leading cartographers, and many other European mapmakers turned to him for source material.