Price: £0.00

• SOLD
• Date: 1688
• Condition: AA
• Colour: Uncoloured.
• Size: 17 1/2 x 23 1/4 inches.

Title: 'Partie Occidentale du Canada ou de la Nouvelle France...' Published by Nolin.

A very rare map of the Great Lakes and one of the most beautiful, acquirable works to focus on the region.

As Tooley states, “it was the best representation of the Great Lakes, particularly Lake Superior, that was printed up to that date.” The accuracy of the cartography is remarkable considering that at the time the region was only just becoming subject to French exploration. This no doubt reflects Coronelli’s favored position in the court of Louis XIV that gave him access to the freshest geographic information as it arrived in Paris.

Sources for the map include Marquette, Joliet, and La Salle. These are acknowledged on the map and in the many notes that point out geographic features, settlements, forts and Indian villages. Another significant source was the work of Franquelin, who was based in Quebec and who served as a repository for geographic information from explorers and missionaries. He produced several large, manuscript maps that collated information from many of these diverse sources.

The map is also significant for shifting the cartographic focus from the eastern seaboard to the American interior, which was very unusual for the period. Kaufman says “The change [in focus] reflects a shift in French imperial policy which in this period was directed to the expansion of control of the fur trade and to contesting Spanish claims in the North American southwest.”

The map is in good condition on clean strong paper with good margins and a strong impression. There are a few flaws: the left margin has been professionally extended by one cm to accomodate framing, there are several taped reinforcements to the verso over some small areas of paper thining and worm tracks and there is a very small worm hole in the upper border. These flaws are reflected in the price and overall the map is very presentable.

References: Tooley, R.V. Mapping of America, pp. 314-15, Karpinski, L.C. Maps of Famous Cartographers, pp. 110, 117. Kaufman, K. The Mapping of the Great Lakes in the Seventeenth Century, no. 12, pp. 34-5.