• Title : Carte Reduite du Detroit De Magellan...1753
• Ref #:  60961
• Size: 15in x 9 1/2in (380m x 240mm)
• Date : 1753
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This fine, original copper-plate engraved antique map of the Magellan Straits between the South American mainland and Tierra Del Fuego map - with major points of discovery and remarks in a 9 legend points by Jacques Nicolas Bellin was engraved in 1753 - dated - and was published in Antoine-François Prevosts L Histoire Generale des VoyagesPierre de Hondt, The Hague.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 15in x 9 1/2in (380m x 240mm)
Plate size: - 14 1/2in x 8in (370mm x 205mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None

Background: 
Antoine François Prevost d Exiles 1697 – 1763, usually known simply as the Abbé Prévost, was a French author and novelist.He was born at Hesdin, Artois, and first appears with the full name of Prevost d Exiles, in a letter to the booksellers of Amsterdam in 1731. His father, Lievin Prévost, was a lawyer, and several members of the family had embraced the ecclesiastical estate. Prevost was educated at the Jesuit school of Hesdin, and in 1713 became a novice of the order in Paris, pursuing his studies at the same time at the college in La Flèche.

At the end of 1716 he left the Jesuits to join the army, but soon tired of military life, and returned to Paris in 1719, apparently with the idea of resuming his novitiate. He is said to have travelled in the Netherlands about this time; in any case he returned to the army, this time with a commission. Some biographers have assumed that he suffered some of the misfortunes assigned to his hero Des Grieux. Whatever the truth, he joined the learned community of the Benedictines of St Maur, with whom he found refuge, he himself says, after the unlucky termination of a love affair. He took his vows at Jumièges in 1721 after a year\'s novitiate, and in 1726 took priests orders at St Germer de Flaix. He spent seven years in various houses of the order, teaching, preaching and studying. In 1728 he was sent to the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Pres, Paris, where he contributed to the Gallia Christiana, a work of historiographic documentation undertaken communally by the monks in continuation of the works of Denys de Sainte-Marthe, who had been a member of their order. His restless spirit made him seek from the Pope a transfer to the easier rule of Cluny; but he left the abbey without leave (1728), and, learning that his superiors had obtained a lettre de cachet against him, fled to England.

In London he acquired a wide knowledge of English history and literature, as can be seen in his writings. Before leaving the Benedictines Prévost had begun perhaps his most famous novel, Mémoires et aventures d’un homme de qualité qui s’est retiré du monde, the first four volumes of which were published in Paris in 1728, and two years later at Amsterdam. In 1729 he left England for the Netherlands, where he began to publish (Utrecht, 1731) a novel, the material of which, at least, had been gathered in London Le Philosophe anglais, ou Histoire de Monsieur Cleveland, fils naturel de Cromwell, ecrite par lui-même, et traduite de l anglais (Paris 1731-1739, 8 vols., but most of the existing sets are partly Paris and partly Utrecht). A spurious fifth volume (Utrecht, 1734) contained attacks on the Jesuits, and an English translation of the whole appeared in 1734.
Meanwhile, during his residence at the Hague, he engaged on a translation of De Thou\'s Historia, and, relying on the popularity of his first book, published at Amsterdam a Suite in three volumes, forming volumes v, vi, and vii of the original Mémoires et aventures d’un homme de qualite. The seventh volume contained the famous Manon Lescaut, separately published in Paris in 1731 as Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut. The book was eagerly read, chiefly in pirated copies, being forbidden in France. In 1733 he left the Hague for London in company of a lady whose character, according to Prevosts enemies, was doubtful. In London he edited a weekly gazette on the model of Joseph Addisons Spectator, Le Pour et contre, which he continued to produce in collaboration with the playwright Charles-Hugues Le Febvre de Saint-Marc, with short intervals, until 1740.

In the autumn of 1734 Prevost was reconciled with the Benedictines, and, returning to France, was received in the Benedictine monastery of La Croix-Saint-Leufroy in the diocese of Evreux to pass through a new, though brief, novitiate. In 1735 he was dispensed from residence in a monastery by becoming almoner to the Prince de Conti, and in 1754 obtained the priory of St Georges de Gesnes. He continued to produce novels and translations from the English, and, with the exception of a brief exile (1741–1742) spent in Brussels and Frankfurt, he resided for the most part at Chantilly until his death, which took place suddenly while he was walking in the neighbouring woods. The cause of his death, the rupture of an aneurysm, is all that is definitely known. Stories of crime and disaster were related of Prevost by his enemies, and diligently repeated, but appear to be apocryphal.

Prevosts other works include:
- Le Doyen de Killerine, Killerine, histoire morale composee sur les memoires d une illustre famille d Irlande (Paris, 1735; 2nd part, the Hague, 1739, 3rd, 4th and 5th parts, 1740)
- Tout pour l\'amour (1735), a translation of Drydens tragedy
- Histoire d une Grecque moderne (Amsterdam [Paris] 2 vols., 1740)
- l Histoire de Marguerite d Anjou (Amsterdam [Paris] 2 vols., 1740)
Memoires pour servir a l histoire de Malte (Amsterdam, 1741)
- Campagnes philosophiques, ou memoires ... contenant l histoire de la guerre d Irlande (Amsterdam, 1741)
- Histoire de Guillaume le Conquerant (Paris, 1742)
- Histoire generale des voyages (15 vols., Paris, 1746-1759), continued by other writers
- Manuel Lexique (Paris, 1750), continued by other writers
- Translations from Samuel Richardson:
Lettres anglaises ou Histoire de Miss Clarisse Harlovie (1751), from Richardson\'s Clarissa, and Nouvelles lettres anglaises, ou Histoire du chevalier Grandisson (Sir Charles Grandison, 1755).
- Mémoires pour servir a l\'histoire de la vertu (1762), from Mrs Sheridan\'s
Memoires of Miss Sidney Bidulph
- Histoire de la maison de Stuart (3 vols., 1740) from Hume\'s History of England to 1688
- Le Monde moral, ou Mémoires pour servir a l\'histoire du coeur humain (2 vols., Geneva, 1760)

• Title : Carte Reduite des Terres Australes pour Servir a l Histoire des Voyages...1753
• Size: 14in x 10in (355mm x 255mm)
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
• Date : 1753
• Ref #:  80279

Description:
This important, early original copper-plate engraved antique map of Australia, New Zealand & New Guinea, one of the earliest near complete maps dedicated to the Island Continent, by Jacques Nicolas Bellin was engraved by Jakob van der Schley in 1753 - date engraved in the title cartouche - and was published by Abbé Prévosts in the 1755 Dutch edition of Histoire Géneral des Voyages.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 14in x 10in (355mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 11 3/4in x 8 1/2in (295mm x 215mm)
Margins: - Min 1in (20mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: 
This is one of the few maps prior to the mid 18th century to focus specifically on the Australian continent & surrounding islands, prior to Captain James Cooks famous first voyage to the south pacific, under secret instruction from the British Admiralty, between 1768 & 1771.
Mainland Australia is connected to both Tasmania (Terre de Van Diemen) and Papua New Guinea (Nouv. Guinee) Along the imaginary eastern coastline is a note that reads: I suppose that the land of Diemen can join with the land of Terre du St Esprit, but this is without proof. A partial coastline of New Zealand is shown peeking out of the corner of the map, with a note of discovery along the western coastline by Abel Tasman in 1642 and speculation that it might be part of a great southern continent, Terra Australis.

Jakob van der Schley aka Jakob van Schley 1715 - 1779 was a Dutch draughtsman and engraver. He studied under Bernard Picart (1673-1733) whose style he subsequently copied. His main interests were engraving portraits and producing illustrations for La Vie de Marianne by Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (1688-1763), published in The Hague between 1735 and 1747. He also engraved the frontispieces for a 15-volume edition of the complete works of Pierre de Brantôme (1540-1614), Oeuvres du seigneur de Brantôme, published in The Hague in 1740. Most of the plates in the Hague edition of Prévosts Histoire générale des voyages are signed by van der Schley.
This is an important map of Australia depicting the interesting theories & misconceptions of the great southern land just prior to the extensive exploration & discoveries of the region in the later part of the 18th century. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

• Title  : Carte De La Siberie...S Bellin
• Date  : 1755
• Ref # :  25538
• Size   :  18 3/4in x 14in (480mm x 360mm)
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This fine large, original copper-plate engraved antique map of Siberia, Eastern Russia by Jacques Nicolas Bellin in 1754 - after Joseph Nicolas Delisle - was published in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyages written by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.
This detailed map of Siberia, extends from the White & Caspian Seas in the west to Irkuckoi Province, Jakutky on the Lena River and regions just to the east. Centered on the Jenisi River.
The map also notes the trip taken by JN Delisle from Moscow to Beryozovo, in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug region to observe the transit of Venus in 1740.

This map by Bellin was taken from JN Delsile, brother of Guillaume Delisle, responsible along with Russian Ivan Kirilov in surveying & publishing the first complete atlas of Russia, Atlas Russicus in 1745.
Jacques Nicolas Delisle was invited by Peter the Great to survey the vast empire of Imperial Russia. Initially accompanied by his step-brother Louis, in 1726 the two Parisians journeyed to Russia (now under the reign of Catherine I) to start their surveys. 
At first, Delisle also worked with Ivan Kirilov, with whom he co-founded the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences. However, the two men did not always see eye to eye, and Kirilov went on to produce an incomplete atlas which was published in 1734, before the French team had finished their surveys. Kirilov died in 1737, eight years before the eventual publication of Delisle\'s atlas. 
The Atlas Russicus is effectively in two parts: the first covering European Russia in 13 numbered maps (scale 1; 1.527.000), the second covering Siberia in six maps. scale (1: 3.360.000). On map 19 Ostium fluvii Amur the extreme point of Alaska and the Aleutian islands.

It is scarcely necessary to look at a map of Russia - with which we must include Siberia - to visualize the daunting task facing Russian map makers. Indeed, considering the vastness of their territory and the lack of skilled cartographers, it is surprising that relatively good maps were available for engraving and printing in most of the well known sixteenth and seventeenth century atlases. Generally, maps of that time were based on material brought back from Moscow by visitors from the West. 

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Green, Yellow, 
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 18 3/4in x 14in (480mm x 360mm)
Plate size: - 18 1/2in x 11 3/4in (470mm x 300mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (6mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese. 
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.
The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas. 
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean. 
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica. 
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

• Title : Carte Reduite D Une Partie Des Costes Occidentalies et Meridionales De L Afrique...MDCCLIV
• Ref #:  50656
• Size: 35 1/2in x 25in (900mm x 510mm)
• Date : 1754
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description: 
This very large finely engraved beautifully hand coloured original antique map, sea chart, of SW Coast of Africa - with an inset view of Cape Town - by Jacques Nicolas Bellin in 1754 - dated in the title cartouche.

Background: This is a scarce and attractive nautical chart depicting the southwest coast of Africa from Cape Fria in Namibia to Cape Agulhas (Cape of the Needles) and the Bay of St. Blaise, including the Cape of Good Hope.
It shows incredible detail along the coast with capes, bays and topographical features including mountains, rivers as well as coastal features noted. Elevation is beautifully rendered in profile.
The map includes three profile views in the top right quadrant. These are ‘Vue Du Cap de Bonne Esperance’ (Cape of Good Hope), ‘Vue Du Cap Falso, Du Cap Des Eguilles et des Terres Qui sont Entre deux’ and ‘Autre Vue Du Cap Falso et Du Cap Des Eguilles’. Cape Town, Constance (Constantia), Stellenbosch and Hangklip are accurately identified

Being part of the Mediterranean world, the northern coasts of the African continent as far as the Straits of Gibraltar and even round to the area of the Fortunate Isles (the Canaries) were reasonably well known and quite accurately mapped from ancient times. In particular, Egypt and the Nile Valley were well defined and the Nile itself was, of course, one of the rivers separating the continents in medieval T-O maps. Through Arab traders the shape of the east coast, down the Red Sea as far as the equator, was also known but detail shown in the interior faded into deserts with occasional mountain ranges and mythical rivers. The southern part of the continent, in the Ptolemaic tradition, was assumed to curve to the east to form a land-locked Indian Ocean. The voyages of the Portuguese, organized by Henry the Navigator in the fifteenth century, completely changed the picture and by the end of the century Vasco da Gama had rounded the Cape enabling cartographers to draw a quite presentable coastal outline of the whole continent, even if the interior was to remain largely unknown for the next two or three centuries.
The first separately printed map of Africa (as with the other known continents) appeared in Munster's Geographia from 1540 onwards and the first atlas devoted to Africa only was published in 1588 in Venice by Livio Sanuto, but the finest individual map of the century was that engraved on 8 sheets by Gastaldi, published in Venice in 1564. Apart from maps in sixteenth-century atlases generally there were also magnificent marine maps of 1596 by Jan van Linschoten (engraved by van Langrens) of the southern half of the continent with highly imaginative and decorative detail in the interior. In the next century there were many attractive maps including those of Mercator/Hondius (1606), Speed (1627), Blaeu (1 630), Visscher (1636), de Wit (c. 1670), all embellished with vignettes of harbours and principal towns and bordered with elaborate and colourful figures of their inhabitants, but the interior remained uncharted with the exception of that part of the continent known as Ethiopia, the name which was applied to a wide area including present-day Abyssinia. Here the legends of Prester John lingered on and, as so often happened in other remote parts of the world, the only certain knowledge of the region was provided by Jesuit missionaries. Among these was Father Geronimo Lobo (1595-1678), whose workA Voyage to Abyssinia was used as the basis for a remarkably accurate map published by a German scholar, Hiob Ludolf in 1683. Despite the formidable problems which faced them, the French cartographers G. Delisle (c. 1700-22), J. B. B. d'Anville (1727-49) and N. Bellin (1754) greatly improved the standards of mapping of the continent, improvements which were usually, although not always, maintained by Homann, Seutter, de Ia Rochette, Bowen, Faden and many others in the later years of the century. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color: - Blue
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Yellow, green pink, blue 
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 35 1/2in x 25in (900mm x 510mm)
Plate size: - 35in x 23in (890mm x 595mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Creasing along centerfold
Verso: - None

• Title : Partie Orientale de la Nouvelle France ou du Canada - 1755
• Ref #:  50678
• Size: 24in x 21in (610mm x 535mm)
• Date : 1755
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This large beautifully hand coloured original antique map of Eastern Canada & New England to Cape Cod was engraved in 1755 by Jacques Nicolas Bellin  - the date is engraved in the title cartouche - and published by the re-known German publishers Homann Heirs.

Background: This is Bellin's definitive map of eastern Canada and New England showing the mouth of the St. Lawrence, the length of the river, the Maritime provinces and French claims in the region. There are some very interesting details of the coastal towns, showing Havre de Baston for Boston Harbor, up the coast to Portsmouth in New Hampshire, Wells, York and Cape Elizabeth in Maine. There is considerable information shown on the extent of French exploration in the region. Large decorative cartouche incorporates two distance scales. This example is from the second plate with the imprint "A Paris chez R.J. Julien a l'Hotel…" removed, the date changed and various geographical improvements. Blank verso. This large format Bellin map was published in several atlases by Homann. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

General Description:
 Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
 Paper color: - Blue
 Age of map color: - Early
 Colors used: - Yellow, green pink, blue 
 General color appearance: - Authentic
 Paper size: - 24in x 21in (610mm x 535mm)
 Plate size: - 22in x 18in (560mm x 460mm)
 Margins: - Min 1in (25mm)
 
 Imperfections:
 Margins: - None
 Plate area: - Old red ink penned in several places on map
 Verso: - Bottom centerfold re-joined, no loss

• Title : Carte des Costes de Perse, Gusarat, et Malabar...1740
• Date : 1740
• Size: 12in x 9in (305mm x 230mm)
• Ref #:  60905
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description: 
This beautifully hand coloured original antique map of the coastal regions of the western Indian Coast to The Persian Gulf & Saudi Arabia was engraved in 1740 - dated in title cartouche - by Jacques Nicolas Bellin for the 1756 French edition of Antoine-François Prevosts L`Histoire Generale des Voyages printed in 20 volumes by Pierre de Hondt, The Hague between 1747 & 1785. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

General Condition:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color: - off white
Age of map color: - Early  
Colors used: - Red, green, yellow  
General color appearance: - Authentic  
Paper size: - 12in x 9in (305mm x 230mm)
Plate size: - 10in x 8 1/2in (255mm x 215mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None

• Title : Carte Du Nord Est de I\'Isle de Juan Fernandez
• Ref #:  25644
• Size: 14in x 10in (355mm x 255mm)
• Date : 1755
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This fine, original copper-plate engraved antique map of map & view of Cumberland Bay and the Capital San Juan Bautista in the NE of Juan Fernandez Island - off the coast of Chile in the Pacific Ocean - the home of the castaway Alexander Selkirk for 4 years - by Jacques Nicolas Bellin in 1755 was published in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyages written by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

Alexander Selkirk (1676 - 1721) was a Scottish sailor who spent four years as a castaway when he was marooned on an uninhabited island, Juan Fernández Island off the coast of Chile. It is his travels that provided the inspiration for Daniel Defoe\'s novel Robinson Crusoe.
At an early period he was engaged in buccaneer expeditions to the South Seas and in 1703 joined in with the expedition of famed privateer and explorer William Dampier. While Dampier was captain of the St. George, Selkirk served on the galley Cinque Ports, the St. George\'s companion, as a sailing master serving under Thomas Stradling.
In October 1704, after the ships had parted ways because of a dispute between Stradling and Dampier, the Cinque Ports was brought by Stradling to the uninhabited archipelago of Juan Fernández off the coast of Chile for a mid-expedition restocking of supplies and fresh water. Selkirk had grave concerns by this time about the seaworthiness of this vessel (indeed, the Cinque Ports later foundered, losing most of its hands). He tried to convince some of his crewmates to desert with him, remaining on the island; he was counting on an impending visit by another ship. No one else agreed to come along with him. Stradling declared that he would grant him his wish and leave him alone on Juan Fernández. Selkirk promptly regretted his decision. He chased and called after the boat, to no avail. Selkirk lived the next four years and four months without any human company. All he had brought with him was a musket, gunpowder, carpenter\'s tools, a knife, a Bible, some clothing and rope.
His long-anticipated rescue occurred on 1 February 1709 by way of the Duke, a privateering ship piloted by the above-mentioned William Dampier. Selkirk was discovered by the Duke\'s captain, Woodes Rogers, who referred to him as Governor of the island. Now rescued, he was almost incoherent in his joy. The agile Selkirk, catching two or three goats a day, helped restore the health of Rogers\' men. Rogers eventually made Selkirk his mate, giving him independent command of one of his ships. Rogers\' A cruising voyage round the world: first to the South-Sea, thence to the East-Indies, and homewards by the Cape of Good Hope was published in 1712 and included an account of Selkirk\'s ordeal. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Green, yellow, orange
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 14in x 10in (355mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 12in x 8 1/2in (305mm x 215mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese.
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.
The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas.
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica.
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

• Title : Carte De L ' Isle De La Barbade...
• Ref #:  35021
• Size: 13 1/2in x 11 1/2in (350mm x 270mm)
• Date : 1755
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition 

Description: 
This beautifully engraved hand coloured original antique map of the Island of Barbados was published in 1755 by Jacques Nicolas Bellin for Antoine-François Prevosts 20 volume edition of L`Histoire Generale des Voyages published by Pierre de Hondt, The Hague between 1747 & 1785. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Light and stable
Paper color: - off white
Age of map color: - Early 
Colors used: - Red, green, yellow 
General color appearance: - Authentic 
Paper size: - 13 1/2in x 11 1/2in (350mm x 270mm)
Plate size: - 8 1/4in x 6 1/2in (250mm x 170mm)
Margins: - Min 2in (50mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - Light age toning
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

• Title : Carte De La Virginie, De La Baye Chesapeack, et Pays Voisins...
• Date : 1755
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
• Ref:  61098
• Size: 14 1/2in x 10in (370mm x 255mm)   

Description: 
This beautifully engraved hand coloured original antique map of Virginia, Chesapeake Bay, New Jersey, Pennsylvania & Maryland was published in 1755 by Jacques Nicolas Bellin for Antoine-François Prevosts 20 volume edition of L`Histoire Generale des Voyages published by Pierre de Hondt, The Hague between 1747 & 1785. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

Antoine François Prévost d'Exiles  1697 - 1763, usually known simply as the Abbé Prévost, was a French author and novelist. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

Please note all items auctioned are genuine, we do not sell reproductions. A Certificate of Authenticity (COA) can be issued on request.

If you wish to discuss this or any other item
please email or call.... Simon.
Classical Images
61 (0) 409 551910 Tel

General Condition:
Paper thickness and quality: - Light and stable
Paper color: - off white
Age of map color: - Early 
Colors used: - Red, green, yellow 
General color appearance: - Authentic 
Paper size: - 14 1/2in x 10in (370mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 12 1/4in x 8 1/2in (310mm x 215mm)
Margins: - Min 1in (25mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None

• Title : Carte de la Coste orientale d Afrique , depuis le cap de Bonne Espérance jusqu\' au cap del Gada . Tirée de la carte françoise de l Océan Oriental puliée ... le Comte de Maurepas en 1740
• Size: 12in x 10in (305mm x 255mm)
• Ref #:  92506
• Date : 1757
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This fine original copper-plate engraved antique map of St Helena Bay in Western Cape South Africa by Jacques Nicolas Bellin was published in 1757 in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyages written by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

Historically, Saint Helena Bay is the location where Vasco da Gama, first set foot in South Africa. The date of this event was recorded as November 7, 1497.
The bay was named Bahia de Santa Helena (Portuguese for its current name) after Saint Helena a devout, influential Christian and mother of Constantine I. This location was also the first setting of a battle between the indigenous Khoikhoi people and early European explorers.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 12in x 10in (305mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 10in x 8in (255mm x 205mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese.
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.

The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas.
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica.
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

• Title : Carte Du Cours des Rivieres de Faleme et Sanaga Dans le Pays de Bambuc et Tamba Awra
• Size: 13 1/2in x 12in (345mm x 305mm)
• Ref #:  15989
• Date : 1757
• Condition: (A) Very Good Condition

Description:
This fine original copper-plate engraved antique map of Western Mali showing the divergence of the Senegal and Niger rivers in West Africa by Jacques Nicolas Bellin was published in 1755 in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyageswritten by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 13 1/2in x 12in (345mm x 305mm)
Plate size: - 12in x 11 1/2in (305mm x 295mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese.
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.

The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas.
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica.
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

• Title : Carta Dell India Foglio II..Di M Bellin
• Ref #:  15624
• Size: 14 1/2in x 10 1/2in (370mm x 265mm)
• Date : 1755
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This fine, original copper-plate engraved antique map of Northern India, Pakistan, Tibet & Afghanistan by Jacques Nicolas Bellin in 1755 was published in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyages written by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Green, yellow, red
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 14 1/2in x 10 1/2in (370mm x 265mm)
Plate size: - 13 1/2in x 9 1/2in (345mm x 240mm)
Margins: - Min 1/4in (6mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese.
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.
The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas.
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica.
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

• Title : Carte Du Golphe de St Laurent et pay Voisins
• Ref #:  60047
• Size: 16in x 10in (410mm x 255mm)
• Date : 1755
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This beautifully hand coloured original antique map of The Gulf of St Lawrence River and Newfoundland by Jacques Nicolas Bellin in 1755 was published by Antoine-François Prevosts in 1755 for the 20 volume edition of L`Histoire Generale des Voyages published by Pierre de Hondt, The Hague between 1747 & 1785. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Light and stable
Paper color: - off white
Age of map color: - Early  
Colors used: - Red, green, yellow  
General color appearance: - Authentic  
Paper size: - 16in x 10in (410mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 15in x 9 1/2in (345mm x 295mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (10mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued  
Verso: - None

• Title : Suite du Bresil.
• Ref #:  61078
• Size: 10in x 7 1/2in (255mm x 190mm)
• Date : 1755
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This fine, original copper-plate engraved antique map of Southern Brazil from from Camarin to Cape St Marie by Jacques Nicolas Bellin in 1755 was published in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyages written by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

The land now called Brazil was claimed for the Portuguese Empire on 22 April 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese fleet commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral. The Portuguese encountered indigenous peoples divided into several tribes, most of whom spoke languages of the Tupi–Guarani family, and fought among themselves. Though the first settlement was founded in 1532, colonization effectively began in 1534, when King Dom João III of Portugal divided the territory into the fifteen private and autonomous Captaincy Colonies of Brazil.
However, the decentralized and unorganized tendencies of the captaincy colonies proved problematic, and in 1549 the Portuguese king restructured them into the Governorate General of Brazil, a single and centralized Portuguese colony in South America. In the first two centuries of colonization, Indigenous and European groups lived in constant war, establishing opportunistic alliances in order to gain advantages against each other. By the mid-16th century, cane sugar had become Brazil\'s most important exportation product, and slaves purchased in Sub-Saharan Africa, in the slave market of Western Africa (not only those from Portuguese allies of their colonies in Angola and Mozambique), had become its largest import, to cope with plantations of sugarcane, due to increasing international demand for Brazilian sugar
By the end of the 17th century, sugarcane exports began to decline, and the discovery of gold by bandeirantes in the 1690s would become the new backbone of the colony\'s economy, fostering a Brazilian Gold Rush which attracted thousands of new settlers to Brazil from Portugal and all Portuguese colonies around the world. This increased level of immigration in turn caused some conflicts between newcomers and old settlers.
Portuguese expeditions known as Bandeiras gradually advanced the Portugal colonial original frontiers in South America to approximately the current Brazilian borders. In this era other European powers tried to colonize parts of Brazil, in incursions that the Portuguese had to fight, notably the French in Rio during the 1560s, in Maranhão during the 1610s, and the Dutch in Bahia and Pernambuco, during the Dutch–Portuguese War, after the end of Iberian Union.
The Portuguese colonial administration in Brazil had two objectives that would ensure colonial order and the monopoly of Portugal\'s wealthiest and largest colony: to keep under control and eradicate all forms of slave rebellion and resistance, such as the Quilombo of Palmares, and to repress all movements for autonomy or independence, such as the Minas Conspiracy

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Green, Yellow,
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 10in x 7 1/2in (255mm x 190mm)
Plate size: - 9 1/2in x 7in (240mm x 180mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese.
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.
The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas.
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica.
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

• Title : Suite du Bresil.
• Ref #:  61078
• Size: 10in x 7 1/2in (255mm x 190mm)
• Date : 1755
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This fine, original copper-plate engraved antique map of Southern Brazil from from Camarin to Cape St Marie by Jacques Nicolas Bellin in 1755 was published in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyages written by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

The land now called Brazil was claimed for the Portuguese Empire on 22 April 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese fleet commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral. The Portuguese encountered indigenous peoples divided into several tribes, most of whom spoke languages of the Tupi–Guarani family, and fought among themselves. Though the first settlement was founded in 1532, colonization effectively began in 1534, when King Dom João III of Portugal divided the territory into the fifteen private and autonomous Captaincy Colonies of Brazil.
However, the decentralized and unorganized tendencies of the captaincy colonies proved problematic, and in 1549 the Portuguese king restructured them into the Governorate General of Brazil, a single and centralized Portuguese colony in South America. In the first two centuries of colonization, Indigenous and European groups lived in constant war, establishing opportunistic alliances in order to gain advantages against each other. By the mid-16th century, cane sugar had become Brazil\'s most important exportation product, and slaves purchased in Sub-Saharan Africa, in the slave market of Western Africa (not only those from Portuguese allies of their colonies in Angola and Mozambique), had become its largest import, to cope with plantations of sugarcane, due to increasing international demand for Brazilian sugar
By the end of the 17th century, sugarcane exports began to decline, and the discovery of gold by bandeirantes in the 1690s would become the new backbone of the colony\'s economy, fostering a Brazilian Gold Rush which attracted thousands of new settlers to Brazil from Portugal and all Portuguese colonies around the world. This increased level of immigration in turn caused some conflicts between newcomers and old settlers.
Portuguese expeditions known as Bandeiras gradually advanced the Portugal colonial original frontiers in South America to approximately the current Brazilian borders. In this era other European powers tried to colonize parts of Brazil, in incursions that the Portuguese had to fight, notably the French in Rio during the 1560s, in Maranhão during the 1610s, and the Dutch in Bahia and Pernambuco, during the Dutch–Portuguese War, after the end of Iberian Union.
The Portuguese colonial administration in Brazil had two objectives that would ensure colonial order and the monopoly of Portugal\'s wealthiest and largest colony: to keep under control and eradicate all forms of slave rebellion and resistance, such as the Quilombo of Palmares, and to repress all movements for autonomy or independence, such as the Minas Conspiracy

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Green, Yellow,
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 10in x 7 1/2in (255mm x 190mm)
Plate size: - 9 1/2in x 7in (240mm x 180mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese.
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.
The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas.
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica.
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

• Title : Suite du Bresil
• Ref #:  61077
• Size: 10in x 7 1/2in (255mm x 190mm)
• Date : 1755
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This fine, original copper-plate engraved antique map of Northern Brazil from San Salvador to Sao Paulo in the south by Jacques Nicolas Bellin in 1755 was published in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyages written by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

The land now called Brazil was claimed for the Portuguese Empire on 22 April 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese fleet commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral. The Portuguese encountered indigenous peoples divided into several tribes, most of whom spoke languages of the Tupi–Guarani family, and fought among themselves. Though the first settlement was founded in 1532, colonization effectively began in 1534, when King Dom João III of Portugal divided the territory into the fifteen private and autonomous Captaincy Colonies of Brazil.
However, the decentralized and unorganized tendencies of the captaincy colonies proved problematic, and in 1549 the Portuguese king restructured them into the Governorate General of Brazil, a single and centralized Portuguese colony in South America. In the first two centuries of colonization, Indigenous and European groups lived in constant war, establishing opportunistic alliances in order to gain advantages against each other. By the mid-16th century, cane sugar had become Brazil\'s most important exportation product, and slaves purchased in Sub-Saharan Africa, in the slave market of Western Africa (not only those from Portuguese allies of their colonies in Angola and Mozambique), had become its largest import, to cope with plantations of sugarcane, due to increasing international demand for Brazilian sugar
By the end of the 17th century, sugarcane exports began to decline, and the discovery of gold by bandeirantes in the 1690s would become the new backbone of the colony\'s economy, fostering a Brazilian Gold Rush which attracted thousands of new settlers to Brazil from Portugal and all Portuguese colonies around the world. This increased level of immigration in turn caused some conflicts between newcomers and old settlers.
Portuguese expeditions known as Bandeiras gradually advanced the Portugal colonial original frontiers in South America to approximately the current Brazilian borders. In this era other European powers tried to colonize parts of Brazil, in incursions that the Portuguese had to fight, notably the French in Rio during the 1560s, in Maranhão during the 1610s, and the Dutch in Bahia and Pernambuco, during the Dutch–Portuguese War, after the end of Iberian Union.
The Portuguese colonial administration in Brazil had two objectives that would ensure colonial order and the monopoly of Portugal\'s wealthiest and largest colony: to keep under control and eradicate all forms of slave rebellion and resistance, such as the Quilombo of Palmares, and to repress all movements for autonomy or independence, such as the Minas Conspiracy

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Green, Yellow,
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 10in x 7 1/2in (255mm x 190mm)
Plate size: - 9in x 7in (230mm x 180mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese.
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.
The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas.
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica.
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

• Title : Carta Della Baja Di Hudson
• Ref #:  16252
• Size: 14in x 11in (3355m x 280mm)
• Date : 1755
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This fine, original copper-plate engraved antique map of Eastern Canada from Newfoundland, Quebec Province, Ontario and Hudson Bay by Jacques Nicolas Bellin was published in the 1755 edition of Antoine-François Prevosts L Histoire Generale des Voyages Pierre de Hondt, The Hague.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 14in x 11in (3355m x 280mm)
Plate size: - 12 1/2in x 9 1/2in (320mm x 240mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None

Background: 
Antoine François Prevost d Exiles 1697 – 1763, usually known simply as the Abbé Prévost, was a French author and novelist.He was born at Hesdin, Artois, and first appears with the full name of Prevost d Exiles, in a letter to the booksellers of Amsterdam in 1731. His father, Lievin Prévost, was a lawyer, and several members of the family had embraced the ecclesiastical estate. Prevost was educated at the Jesuit school of Hesdin, and in 1713 became a novice of the order in Paris, pursuing his studies at the same time at the college in La Flèche.

At the end of 1716 he left the Jesuits to join the army, but soon tired of military life, and returned to Paris in 1719, apparently with the idea of resuming his novitiate. He is said to have travelled in the Netherlands about this time; in any case he returned to the army, this time with a commission. Some biographers have assumed that he suffered some of the misfortunes assigned to his hero Des Grieux. Whatever the truth, he joined the learned community of the Benedictines of St Maur, with whom he found refuge, he himself says, after the unlucky termination of a love affair. He took his vows at Jumièges in 1721 after a year\'s novitiate, and in 1726 took priests orders at St Germer de Flaix. He spent seven years in various houses of the order, teaching, preaching and studying. In 1728 he was sent to the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Pres, Paris, where he contributed to the Gallia Christiana, a work of historiographic documentation undertaken communally by the monks in continuation of the works of Denys de Sainte-Marthe, who had been a member of their order. His restless spirit made him seek from the Pope a transfer to the easier rule of Cluny; but he left the abbey without leave (1728), and, learning that his superiors had obtained a lettre de cachet against him, fled to England.

In London he acquired a wide knowledge of English history and literature, as can be seen in his writings. Before leaving the Benedictines Prévost had begun perhaps his most famous novel, Mémoires et aventures d’un homme de qualité qui s’est retiré du monde, the first four volumes of which were published in Paris in 1728, and two years later at Amsterdam. In 1729 he left England for the Netherlands, where he began to publish (Utrecht, 1731) a novel, the material of which, at least, had been gathered in London Le Philosophe anglais, ou Histoire de Monsieur Cleveland, fils naturel de Cromwell, ecrite par lui-même, et traduite de l anglais (Paris 1731-1739, 8 vols., but most of the existing sets are partly Paris and partly Utrecht). A spurious fifth volume (Utrecht, 1734) contained attacks on the Jesuits, and an English translation of the whole appeared in 1734.
Meanwhile, during his residence at the Hague, he engaged on a translation of De Thou\'s Historia, and, relying on the popularity of his first book, published at Amsterdam a Suite in three volumes, forming volumes v, vi, and vii of the original Mémoires et aventures d’un homme de qualite. The seventh volume contained the famous Manon Lescaut, separately published in Paris in 1731 as Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut. The book was eagerly read, chiefly in pirated copies, being forbidden in France. In 1733 he left the Hague for London in company of a lady whose character, according to Prevosts enemies, was doubtful. In London he edited a weekly gazette on the model of Joseph Addisons Spectator, Le Pour et contre, which he continued to produce in collaboration with the playwright Charles-Hugues Le Febvre de Saint-Marc, with short intervals, until 1740.

In the autumn of 1734 Prevost was reconciled with the Benedictines, and, returning to France, was received in the Benedictine monastery of La Croix-Saint-Leufroy in the diocese of Evreux to pass through a new, though brief, novitiate. In 1735 he was dispensed from residence in a monastery by becoming almoner to the Prince de Conti, and in 1754 obtained the priory of St Georges de Gesnes. He continued to produce novels and translations from the English, and, with the exception of a brief exile (1741–1742) spent in Brussels and Frankfurt, he resided for the most part at Chantilly until his death, which took place suddenly while he was walking in the neighbouring woods. The cause of his death, the rupture of an aneurysm, is all that is definitely known. Stories of crime and disaster were related of Prevost by his enemies, and diligently repeated, but appear to be apocryphal.

Prevosts other works include:
- Le Doyen de Killerine, Killerine, histoire morale composee sur les memoires d une illustre famille d Irlande (Paris, 1735; 2nd part, the Hague, 1739, 3rd, 4th and 5th parts, 1740)
- Tout pour l\'amour (1735), a translation of Drydens tragedy
- Histoire d une Grecque moderne (Amsterdam [Paris] 2 vols., 1740)
- l Histoire de Marguerite d Anjou (Amsterdam [Paris] 2 vols., 1740)
Memoires pour servir a l histoire de Malte (Amsterdam, 1741)
- Campagnes philosophiques, ou memoires ... contenant l histoire de la guerre d Irlande (Amsterdam, 1741)
- Histoire de Guillaume le Conquerant (Paris, 1742)
- Histoire generale des voyages (15 vols., Paris, 1746-1759), continued by other writers
- Manuel Lexique (Paris, 1750), continued by other writers
- Translations from Samuel Richardson:
Lettres anglaises ou Histoire de Miss Clarisse Harlovie (1751), from Richardson\'s Clarissa, and Nouvelles lettres anglaises, ou Histoire du chevalier Grandisson (Sir Charles Grandison, 1755).
- Mémoires pour servir a l\'histoire de la vertu (1762), from Mrs Sheridan\'s
Memoires of Miss Sidney Bidulph
- Histoire de la maison de Stuart (3 vols., 1740) from Hume\'s History of England to 1688
- Le Monde moral, ou Mémoires pour servir a l\'histoire du coeur humain (2 vols., Geneva, 1760)

• Title: Plan De L Enceinte de la Ville De Nan-King ou Kyang-Ning-Fou Capitale de la Province de Kyang-nan; Plan de la Ville De Su-Tcheou-Fou
• Date: 1755
• Condition : (A+) Fine Condition
• Ref: 15844
• Size: 13 1/2in x 10in (345mm x 255mm)

Description:
This fine, original copper-plate engraved antique map a birds-eye view of the walled cities of Nanjing & Zhenzhou, in the Jiangsu Province of China by Jakob van Schley in 1755 was published in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyageswritten by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

Nanjing formerly romanized as Nanking and Nankin, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People\'s Republic of China and the second largest city in the East China region, with an administrative area of 6,600 km2 (2,500 sq mi) and a total population of 8,270,500.
Situated in the Yangtze River Delta region, Nanjing has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having served as the capital of various Chinese dynasties, kingdoms and republican governments dating from the 3rd century to 1949, and has thus long been a major center of culture, education, research, politics, economy, transport networks and tourism, being the home to one of the world\'s largest inland ports.
Nanjing, one of the nation\'s most important cities for over a thousand years, is recognized as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. It has been one of the world\'s largest cities, enjoying peace and prosperity despite wars and disasters. Nanjing served as the capital of Eastern Wu, one of the three major states in the Three Kingdoms period (211–280); the Eastern Jin and each of the Southern Dynasties (Liu Song, Southern Qi, Liang and Chen), which successively ruled southern China from 317–589; the Southern Tang, one of the Ten Kingdoms (937–76); the Ming dynasty when, for the first time, all of China was ruled from the city (1368–1421);[15] and the Republic of China (1927–37, 1945–49) prior to its flight to Taiwan during the Chinese Civil War. The city also served as the seat of the rebel Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1851–64) and the Japanese puppet regime of Wang Jingwei (1940–45) during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It suffered appalling atrocities in both conflicts, including the Nanjing Massacre.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Yellow, green, orange
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 13 1/2in x 10in (345mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 11 1/2in x 9in (295mm x 230mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese.
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.
The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas.
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica.
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

Jakob van der Schley aka Jakob van Schley (1715 - 1779) was a Dutch draughtsman and engraver. He studied under Bernard Picart (1673-1733) whose style he subsequently copied. His main interests were engraving portraits and producing illustrations for \\\"La Vie de Marianne\\\" by Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (1688-1763) published in The Hague between 1735 and 1747.
He also engraved the frontispieces for a 15-volume edition of the complete works of Pierre de Brantôme (1540-1614), Oeuvres du seigneur de Brantôme, published in The Hague in 1740.
He is also responsible for most of the plates in the Hague edition of Prévosts Histoire générale des voyages. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

• Title: Plan De L Enceinte de la Ville De Nan-King ou Kyang-Ning-Fou Capitale de la Province de Kyang-nan; Plan de la Ville De Su-Tcheou-Fou
• Date: 1755
• Size: 13 1/2in x 10in (345mm x 255mm)
• Ref: 25695
• Condition : (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This fine, original copper-plate engraved antique map a birds-eye view of the walled cities of Nanjing & Zhenzhou, in the Jiangsu Province of China by Jakob van Schley in 1755 was published in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyageswritten by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

Nanjing formerly romanized as Nanking and Nankin, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People\'s Republic of China and the second largest city in the East China region, with an administrative area of 6,600 km2 (2,500 sq mi) and a total population of 8,270,500.
Situated in the Yangtze River Delta region, Nanjing has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having served as the capital of various Chinese dynasties, kingdoms and republican governments dating from the 3rd century to 1949, and has thus long been a major center of culture, education, research, politics, economy, transport networks and tourism, being the home to one of the world\'s largest inland ports.
Nanjing, one of the nation\'s most important cities for over a thousand years, is recognized as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. It has been one of the world\'s largest cities, enjoying peace and prosperity despite wars and disasters. Nanjing served as the capital of Eastern Wu, one of the three major states in the Three Kingdoms period (211–280); the Eastern Jin and each of the Southern Dynasties (Liu Song, Southern Qi, Liang and Chen), which successively ruled southern China from 317–589; the Southern Tang, one of the Ten Kingdoms (937–76); the Ming dynasty when, for the first time, all of China was ruled from the city (1368–1421);[15] and the Republic of China (1927–37, 1945–49) prior to its flight to Taiwan during the Chinese Civil War. The city also served as the seat of the rebel Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1851–64) and the Japanese puppet regime of Wang Jingwei (1940–45) during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It suffered appalling atrocities in both conflicts, including the Nanjing Massacre.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Yellow, green, orange
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 13 1/2in x 10in (345mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 11 1/2in x 9in (295mm x 230mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese.
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.
The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas.
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica.
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

Jakob van der Schley aka Jakob van Schley (1715 - 1779) was a Dutch draughtsman and engraver. He studied under Bernard Picart (1673-1733) whose style he subsequently copied. His main interests were engraving portraits and producing illustrations for \\\"La Vie de Marianne\\\" by Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (1688-1763) published in The Hague between 1735 and 1747.
He also engraved the frontispieces for a 15-volume edition of the complete works of Pierre de Brantôme (1540-1614), \\\"Oeuvres du seigneur de Brantôme\\\", published in The Hague in 1740.
He is also responsible for most of the plates in the Hague edition of Prévosts Histoire générale des voyages. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

• Title: Puvrages qui se trouvent dans les Tombeaux des anciens Peruviens
• Date: 1755
• Condition : (A+) Fine Condition
• Ref: 34132
• Size: 15in x 10in (385mm x 255mm)

Description:
This fine, original copper-plate engraved antique print of artifacts found in an Inca Tomb in Peru by Jakob van Schley in 1755 - after De Bry - was published in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyages written by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

The Inca Empire also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire, was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America, and possibly the largest empire in the world in the early 16th century. Its political and administrative structure \"was the most sophisticated found among native peoples\" in the Americas.The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century. Its last stronghold was conquered by the Spanish in 1572.
From 1438 to 1533, the Incas incorporated a large portion of western South America, centered on the Andean Mountains, using conquest and peaceful assimilation, among other methods. At its largest, the empire joined Peru, large parts of modern Ecuador, western and south central Bolivia, northwest Argentina, north and central Chile and a small part of southwest Colombia into a state comparable to the historical empires of Eurasia. Its official language was Quechua.Many local forms of worship persisted in the empire, most of them concerning local sacred Huacas, but the Inca leadership encouraged the worship of Inti – their sun god – and imposed its sovereignty above other cults such as that of Pachamama. The Incas considered their king, the Sapa Inca, to be the \"son of the sun.\"
The Inca Empire was unique in that it lacked many features associated with civilization in the Old World. In the words of one scholar, \"The Incas lacked the use of wheeled vehicles. They lacked animals to ride and draft animals that could pull wagons and plows... [They] lacked the knowledge of iron and steel... Above all, they lacked a system of writing... Despite these supposed handicaps, the Incas were still able to construct one of the greatest imperial states in human history\". Notable features of the Inca Empire include its monumental architecture, especially stonework, extensive road network reaching all corners of the empire, finely-woven textiles, use of knotted strings (quipu) for record keeping and communication, agricultural innovations in a difficult environment, and the organization and management fostered or imposed on its people and their labor.
The Incan economy has been described in contradictory ways by scholars: as \"feudal, slave, socialist (here one may choose between socialist paradise or socialist tyranny)\". The Inca empire functioned largely without money and without markets. Instead, exchange of goods and services was based on reciprocity between individuals and among individuals, groups, and Inca rulers. \"Taxes\" consisted of a labor obligation of a person to the Empire. The Inca rulers (who theoretically owned all the means of production) reciprocated by granting access to land and goods and providing food and drink in celebratory feasts for their subjects.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Yellow, green, red
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 15in x 10in (385mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 14in x 8 1/2in (355mm x 220mm)
Margins: - Min 1in (25mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese.
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.
The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas.
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica.
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

Jakob van der Schley aka Jakob van Schley (1715 - 1779) was a Dutch draughtsman and engraver. He studied under Bernard Picart (1673-1733) whose style he subsequently copied. His main interests were engraving portraits and producing illustrations for \\\"La Vie de Marianne\\\" by Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (1688-1763) published in The Hague between 1735 and 1747.
He also engraved the frontispieces for a 15-volume edition of the complete works of Pierre de Brantôme (1540-1614), \\\"Oeuvres du seigneur de Brantôme\\\", published in The Hague in 1740.
He is also responsible for most of the plates in the Hague edition of Prévosts Histoire générale des voyages. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

• Title : Amusemens De L Empereur Apres Son Diner
• Ref #:  25962
• Size: 10in x 10in (255mm x 255mm)
• Date : 1755
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This fine, original copper-plate engraved antique print of Aztec dancers and musicians performing for the Aztec Emperor, in modern day Mexico, by Jakob van Schley - after De Bry - in 1755 was published in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyages written by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 10in x 10in (255mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 8in x 6in (205mm x 155mm)
Margins: - Min 1in (25mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese.
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.
The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas.
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica.
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

Jakob van der Schley aka Jakob van Schley (1715 - 1779) was a Dutch draughtsman and engraver. He studied under Bernard Picart (1673-1733) whose style he subsequently copied. His main interests were engraving portraits and producing illustrations for \\\"La Vie de Marianne\\\" by Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (1688-1763) published in The Hague between 1735 and 1747.
He also engraved the frontispieces for a 15-volume edition of the complete works of Pierre de Brantôme (1540-1614), \\\"Oeuvres du seigneur de Brantôme\\\", published in The Hague in 1740.
He is also responsible for most of the plates in the Hague edition of Prévosts Histoire générale des voyages. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

• Title: Lan-Tcheou ou Lan-Chew dans la Province Chensi…/Can Tcheou ou Kan-Chew dans la Province de Chensi…/Tchin-Ywen-Fou ou Chin-Ywen-Fu dans la Province de Koei-Tcheou ou Quey-Chew
• Date: 1755
• Size: 13 1/2in x 10in (345mm x 255mm)
• Ref: 25725
• Condition : (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This fine, original copper-plate engraved antique map a birds-eye view of the walled cities of Lanzhou & Zhangye in the Gansu province of Northern China and the city of Guiyang in the Guizhou province of Southwest China by Jakob van Schley in 1755 was published in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyageswritten by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. The prefecture-level city, located on the banks of the Yellow River
Originally in the territory of the Western Qiang peoples, Lanzhou became part of the territory of the State of Qin in the 6th century BC.
In 81 BC, under the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), it was taken from the Huns\' Huandi Chanyu and made the seat of Jincheng commandery (jùn), and later of the Jincheng county (xian), later renamed Yunwu. The city used to be called the Golden City, and since at least the first millennium BC it was a major link on the ancient Northern Silk Road, and also an important historic Yellow River crossing site. To protect the city, the Great Wall of China was extended as far as Yumen. Parts of the Great Wall still exist within the built-up area.
After the fall of the Han dynasty, Lanzhou became the capital of a succession of tribal states. In the 4th century it was briefly the capital of the independent state of Liang. The Northern Wei dynasty (386–534) reestablished Jincheng commandery, renaming the county Zicheng. Mixed with different cultural heritages, the area at present-day Gansu province, from the 5th to the 11th century, became a center for Buddhist study. Under the Sui Dynasty(581–618) the city became the seat of Lanzhou prefecture for the first time, retaining this name under the Tang dynasty (618–907). In 763 the area was overrun by the Tibetan Empire and in 843 was conquered by the Tang. Later it fell into the hands of the Western Xia dynasty (which flourished in Qinghai from the 11th to 13th century) and was subsequently absorbed by the Song dynasty (960–1126) in 1041. The name Lanzhou was reestablished, and the county renamed Lanzhuan.
After 1127 it fell into the hands of the Jin dynasty, and after 1235 it came into the possession of the Mongol Empire.
Under the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) the prefecture was demoted to a county and placed under the administration of Lintao superior prefecture, but in 1477 Lanzhou was reestablished as a political unit.
The city acquired its current name in 1656, during the Qing dynasty. When Gansu was made a separate province in 1666, Lanzhou became its capital.
In 1739 the seat of Lintao was transferred to Lanzhou, which was later made a superior prefecture called Lanzhou.
Lanzhou was badly damaged during the Dungan revolt in 1864–1875. In the 1920s and 1930s it became a center of Sovietinfluence in northwestern China. During the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) Lanzhou, linked with Xi\'an by highway in 1935, became the terminus of the 3,200 km (2,000 mi) Chinese–Soviet highway, used as a route for Soviet supplies destined for the Xi\'an area. This highway remained the primary traffic route of northwestern China until the completion of the railway from Lanzhou to Ürümqi, Xinjiang. During the war Lanzhou was heavily bombed by the Japanese.
During the 1937 Japanese invasion of China, the Guominjun Muslim Generals Ma Hongkui and Ma Bufang protected Lanzhou with their cavalry troops, putting up such resistance that the Japanese never captured Lanzhou. The city is the seat of a currently vacant Roman Catholic diocese and was previously the center of a vicariate apostolic(Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Kan-Su)

Zhangye , formerly romanized as Changyeh or known as Kanchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Gansu Province in the People\'s Republic of China. It borders Inner Mongolia on the north and Qinghai on the south. Its central district is Ganzhou, formerly a city of the Western Xia and one of the most important outposts of western China.
Zhangye lies in the center of the Hexi Corridor. The area is on the frontier of China Proper, protecting it from the nomads of the northwest and permitting its armies access to the Tarim Basin. During the Han Dynasty, Chinese armies were often engaged against the Xiongnuin this area. It was also an important outpost on the Silk Road.[citation needed]Before being overrun by the Mongols, it was dominated by the Western Xia, and before by the Uyghurs from at least the early 10th century. Its relation to the larger Uyghur state of Qocho is obscure, but it may have been a vassal.
The Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan is said to have been born in the Dafo Temple, Zhangye, now the site of the longest wooden reclining Buddha in China.[citation needed] Marco Polo\'s journal states that he spent a year in the town during his journey to China.
The pine forests of the Babao Mountains (part of the Qilian range) formerly regulated the flow of the Ruo or Hei Shui, Ganzhou\'s primary river. By ensuring that the meltwaters lasted throughout the summer, they avoided both early flood and later drought for the valley\'s farmers. Despite reports that they should thus be protected in perpetuity, an imperial official in charge of erecting the poles for China\'s telegraph network ordered them cleared in the 1880s. Almost immediately, the region became prone to flooding in the summer and draught in the autumn, arousing local resentment.
Christian missionaries arrived in 1879, after Suzhou was found to be too hostile for their settlement.

Guiyang is the capital of Guizhou province of Southwest China. It is located in the center of the province, situated on the east of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, and on the north bank of the Nanming River, a branch of the Wu River.
Guiyang was a 7th-century military outpost under the Sui and Tang, when the area around it was known as Juzhou. It grew into a city named Shunyuan under the Mongolian Yuandynasty sometime between their 1279 southwestern campaignsand 1283. By the time Guizhoubecame a full province in 1413, its capital at Guiyang was also known as Guizhou. It became a prefectural seat under the Mingand Qing. Guiyang grew rapidly during the development of the southwest that occurred after the Japanese invasion of China during World War II.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Yellow, green, orange
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 13 1/2in x 10in (345mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 11 1/2in x 8 1/2in (295mm x 215mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese.
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.
The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas.
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica.
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

Jakob van der Schley aka Jakob van Schley (1715 - 1779) was a Dutch draughtsman and engraver. He studied under Bernard Picart (1673-1733) whose style he subsequently copied. His main interests were engraving portraits and producing illustrations for \\\"La Vie de Marianne\\\" by Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (1688-1763) published in The Hague between 1735 and 1747.
He also engraved the frontispieces for a 15-volume edition of the complete works of Pierre de Brantôme (1540-1614), \\\"Oeuvres du seigneur de Brantôme\\\", published in The Hague in 1740.
He is also responsible for most of the plates in the Hague edition of Prévosts Histoire générale des voyages. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

• Title: Plans De Quelques VIlles De La Province de Hou-Quang; Yong Tcheou Fou; Vou-Tchang-Fou; Hoang-Tcheou-Fou
• Date: 1755
• Size: 14in x 10in (355mm x 255mm)
• Ref: 25540
• Condition : (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This fine, original copper-plate engraved antique map a birds-eye view of three walled cities of the central Chinese province of Hubei, Huangzhou, Wuhan & Hoang-Tcheou-Fou, on the Yangtze River, by Jakob van Schley in 1755 was published in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyageswritten by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

Hubei or Hou-Quang is a province located in central China. Hubei means north of the lake, referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The provincial capital is Wuhan, a major transportation thoroughfare and the political, cultural, and economic hub of Central China.
Hubei is an ancient name associated with the eastern part of the province since the Qin dynasty, after the powerful State of Chu that existed here during the Eastern Zhou dynasty. It borders Henan to the north, Anhui to the east, Jiangxito the southeast, Hunan to the south, Chongqing to the west, and Shaanxi to the northwest. The high-profile Three Gorges Dam is located at Yichang, in the west of the province.

Below is a description of each city & excerts from Jean Baptiste Du Haldes Description Geographique, Historique, Chronologique, Politique, et Physique de l\'Empire de la Chine published in 1735 of each city.

1. Yong tcheou fou - Huangzhou District is an urban district of Huanggang, Hubei, China. Huangzhou was previously a separate city which administered a prefecture in its own right.
The Seventh City, Yong tcheou fou. 
This city, the most Southern of the Province, is surrounded with Mountains, whose Verdure renders a very agreeable Prospect, and is situate on the Banks of a River, which not far from thence runs into the Siang kiang. The Water of this River is so clear and limpid, that in the deepest Places you may count the Stones and Flints that are at the Bottom : There grows plenty of Bamboos in some part of this District and in others the Lien hoa, with yellow Flowers : There are eight Cities in its Jurisdiction, one of the Second Order, and seven of the Third.
Besides these principal Cities, there are two of the Second Order, which are not subject to any Fou, or City of the First Order, and have each a Jurisdiction over other Cities : The first is called Tsin tcheou, and is on the Frontiers of the Province of Koei tcheou, it has in its District three Cities of the Third Order : The second is called Tching Tcheou, a very large and populous City, built between two Rivers ; five Cities of the Third Order are subject to it, all situated on the Frontiers of the City of Quang Tong : Tho\' this City is full of Mountains, yet they do not hinder its Cultivation.

2. Vou-Tchang-Fou - Wuhan - is the capital of Hubei province, China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies in the eastern Jianghan Plain at the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers.
With a 3,500-year-long history, Wuhan is one of the most ancient and civilized metropolitan cities in China. During the Han dynasty, Hanyang became a fairly busy port. In the winter of 208/9, one of the most famous battles in Chinese history and a central event in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms—the Battle of Red Cliffs—took place in the vicinity of the cliffs near Wuhan. Around that time, walls were built to protect Hanyang (AD 206) and Wuchang (AD 223). The latter event marks the foundation of Wuhan. In AD 223, the Yellow Crane Tower was constructed on the Wuchang side of the Yangtze River. Cui Hao, a celebrated poet of the Tang dynasty, visited the building in the early 8th century; his poem made it the most celebrated building in southern China. The city has long been renowned as a center for the arts (especially poetry) and for intellectual studies. Under the Mongol rulers (Yuan dynasty), Wuchang was promoted to the status of provincial capital; by the dawn of the 18th century, Hankou had become one of China\'s top four most important towns of trade.
The First City, and Capital of the Province, Vou chang fou
This is both the Capital of the Province, and the North Part of it, called Hou pe, where resides the Tsong tou of both Parts of this Province , it has under its particular Jurisdiction one City of the Second , Order, and nine of the Third.
Vou chang is almost in the Centre of the Empire, and situate in a Place which may most easily communicate with the rest of the Provinces. This City joined to Han yang, from which it is separated only by the Breadth of the River Yang tse kiang, and the little River Han forms a Place the best Peopled, and of the greatest Resort in China ; one may compare the Extent of this City to Paris, and Han Tang to Lyons, or Rouen: Add to this, an incredible Number of Barks of all Sizes, which lie some in one River, some in the other, for the length of French Leagues, to the number of eight or ten thousand Vessels, among which there are hundreds every way as large as the most part of those that lie at Nantz. Certainly, if one considers nothing else but this Forest of Masts which are upon the fine River Yang tse Kiang, about a League broad in this Place, tho\' it is 150 Leagues from the Sea, and deep enough for the greatest Vessels, it will justly raise our Wonder; but when one gains the Top of any Ascent, and discovers such a vast Extent of Ground covered with Houses, we should scarcely believe our won eyes, or at least must think it the finest Sight in the World.
One may judge, by the Number of Rivers and Lakes with which this Province is watered, how fruitful it is, and how easily the Trading with the rest of the Empire, by means of the great River Yang tse Kiang, must needs inrich it.
What is farther worthy of Observation, is the fine Cristal which is dug out of the Mountains, the plentiful Crops of the best Tea, and the extraordinary Demand for Bamboo Paper, which is manufactured here.

3. Hoang tcheou fou - The Eighth City.
The Situation of this City is on the Banks of the River Yang tse kiang ; its small distance from the Capital, and the Number of Lakes which surround it, render it a most agreeable Place for Habitation ; it is extremely well peopled, and for Trade gives place to few other Cities. There come there daily a surprising Number of Barks, loaded with all forts of Merchandize.
The whole District is admirably well cultivated, I and agreeably diversified by the Rivers and Brooks that Water it, as well as by the Mountains which bound it on the North ; some of these Mountains are covered with Trees, which are of great service to the Inhabitants ; there are also Fountains, which have the Property of giving Tea a delicious Taste.
There are taken in the River near the City great Numbers of Tortoises, some great, some small, which the Nobility keep in their Gardens for Diversion, and also at their Pleasure-Houses. They make excellent Arrack, which is very strong, and takes Fire in an Instant, and hath no bad Smell ; there are also very good Chestnuts, and very large. Its District: contains nine Cities, one of the Second Order, and eight of the Third. The South Part of the Province of Hou quang.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Yellow, green, orange
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 14in x 10in (355mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 12in x 8in (305mm x 205mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese.
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.
The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas.
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica.
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

Jakob van der Schley aka Jakob van Schley (1715 - 1779) was a Dutch draughtsman and engraver. He studied under Bernard Picart (1673-1733) whose style he subsequently copied. His main interests were engraving portraits and producing illustrations for \\\"La Vie de Marianne\\\" by Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (1688-1763) published in The Hague between 1735 and 1747.
He also engraved the frontispieces for a 15-volume edition of the complete works of Pierre de Brantôme (1540-1614), \\\"Oeuvres du seigneur de Brantôme\\\", published in The Hague in 1740.
He is also responsible for most of the plates in the Hague edition of Prévosts Histoire générale des voyages. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

• Title : Plan De La Ville De Boston
• Ref #:  61096
• Size: 14in x 10in (355mm x 255mm)
• Date : 1756
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description: 
This beautifully hand coloured original antique map of Boston and surrounding areas - one of the earliest obtainable maps of the city - by Jacques-Nicholas Bellin in 1756 was published in the 1757 French edition of Antoine-François Prevosts 20 volume L`Histoire Generale des Voyages published by Pierre de Hondt in the Hague between 1747 & 1785.

Antoine François Prévost d'Exiles  1697 - 1763, usually known simply as the Abbé Prévost, was a French author and novelist. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

Background:
Beautifully hand coloured map with great street and building detail in both  Boston and Charlestown, showing parts of Ronde Isle and the mainland. Important buildings and areas identified in the index at the left of the map. Including three cannon batteries, the Presbyterian Church, the Quaker temple, the Anabaptist Church, the City Hall, the Armory, Faneuil Hall (Spelled Fanal), etc. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color: - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Yellow, green, red, brown.
General color appearance: - Authentic and fresh
Paper size: - 14in x 10in (355mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 11in x 7 1/4in (280mm x 185mm)
Margins: - Min ½in (7mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None

• Title: Carte Du Paraguay...1756
• Date: 1756
  Condition : (A+) Fine Condition
• Ref: 60939
• Size: 15in x 10in (380mm x 255mm) 

Description:
This fine, original copper-plate engraved antique map of Paraguay South America, by Jacques Nicolas Bellin in 1756 was published in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyages written by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

The first Europeansto explore the country were Spanish explorers in 1516. The Spanish explorer Juan de Salazar de Espinosa founded the settlement of Asunción on 15 August 1537. The city eventually became the center of a Spanish colonial province of Paraguay.
An attempt to create an autonomous Christian Indian nation was undertaken by Jesuit missions and settlements in this part of South America in the eighteenth century, which included portions of Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil. They developed Jesuit reductions to bring Guarani populations together at Spanish missions and protect them from virtual slavery by Spanish settlers and Portuguese slave raiders, the Bandeirantes. In addition to seeking their conversion to Christianity. Catholicism in Paraguay was influenced by the indigenous peoples; the syncretic religion has absorbed native elements. The reducciones flourished in eastern Paraguay for about 150 years, until the expulsion of the Jesuits by the Spanish Crown in 1767. The ruins of two 18th-century Jesuit Missions of La Santísima Trinidad de Paraná and Jesús de Tavarangue have been designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
In western Paraguay Spanish settlement and Christianity were strongly resisted by the nomadic Guaycuru and other nomads from the 16th century onward. Most of these peoples were absorbed into the mestizo population in the 18th and 19th centuries.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Yellow, green, red
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 15in x 10in (380mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 13in x 8 1/2in (330mm x 215mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese. 
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.
The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas. 
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean. 
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica. 
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

• Title : Plan de la Ville De Boston et ses Environs
• Ref #:  93417
• Size: 14 1/2in x 9 1/2in (350mm x 240mm)
• Date : 1756
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This original hand coloured copper plate engraved antique map of Boston and surrounding areas - one of the earliest obtainable maps of the city - by Jacques Nicholas Bellin in 1756 - was published in the French edition of Antoine-François Prevosts 20 volume L Histoire Generale des Voyages published by Pierre de Hondt in the Hague between 1747 & 1785.

Beautiful map with great street and building detail in both Boston and Charlestown, showing parts of Ronde Isle and the mainland. Important buildings and areas identified in an idex at the left of the map. Including three cannon batteries, the Presbyterian Church, the Quaker temple, the Anabaptist Church, the City Hall, the Armory, Faneuil Hall (Spelled Fanal), etc. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Yellow, green, blue, pink
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 14 1/2in x 9 1/2in (350mm x 240mm)
Plate size: - 11 1/2in x 7 1/2in (285mm x 190mm)
Margins: - Min 1in (25mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None

Background:
Boston is the capital city and most populous municipality of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States.
Boston is one of the oldest cities in the United States, founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from England. It was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston. Upon U.S. independence from Great Britain, it continued to be an important port and manufacturing hub as well as a center for education and culture.
In the 1820s, Boston\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s population grew rapidly, and the city\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s ethnic composition changed dramatically with the first wave of European immigrants. Irish immigrants dominated the first wave of newcomers during this period, especially following the Irish Potato Famine; by 1850, about 35,000 Irish lived in Boston. In the latter half of the 19th century, the city saw increasing numbers of Irish, Germans, Lebanese, Syrians, French Canadians, and Russian and Polish Jews settling in the city. By the end of the 19th century, Boston\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s core neighborhoods had become enclaves of ethnically distinct immigrants. Italians inhabited the North End, Irish dominated South Boston and Charlestown, and Russian Jews lived in the West End. Irish and Italian immigrants brought with them Roman Catholicism. Currently, Catholics make up Boston\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s largest religious community and the Irish have played a major role in Boston politics since the early 20th century; prominent figures include the Kennedys, Tip O\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Neill, and John F. Fitzgerald.
Between 1631 and 1890, the city tripled its area through land reclamation by filling in marshes, mud flats, and gaps between wharves along the waterfront. The largest reclamation efforts took place during the 19th century; beginning in 1807, the crown of Beacon Hill was used to fill in a 50-acre mill pond that later became the Haymarket Square area. The present-day State House sits atop this lowered Beacon Hill. Reclamation projects in the middle of the century created significant parts of the South End, the West End, the Financial District, and Chinatown.
After the Great Boston Fire of 1872, workers used building rubble as landfill along the downtown waterfront. During the mid- to-late 19th century, workers filled almost 600 acres of brackish Charles River marshlands west of Boston Common with gravel brought by rail from the hills of Needham Heights. The city annexed the adjacent towns of South Boston (1804), East Boston (1836), Roxbury (1868), Dorchester (including present day Mattapan and a portion of South Boston) (1870), Brighton (including present day Allston) (1874), West Roxbury (including present day Jamaica Plain and Roslindale) (1874), Charlestown (1874), and Hyde Park (1912). Other proposals were unsuccessful for the annexation of Brookline, Cambridge and Chelsea.

• Title : Carte de la Virginiae, De la Baye Chesapeack, et pays Voisins...
• Ref #:  93416-1
• Size: 13 1/2in x 10in (345mm x 245mm)
• Date : 1757
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This original hand coloured copper plate engraved antique map of Virginia, Chesapeake Bay, Maryland & parts of New Jersey & Pennsylvania - by Jacques Nicholas Bellin in 1757 - was published in the French edition of Antoine-François Prevosts 20 volume L Histoire Generale des Voyages published by Pierre de Hondt in the Hague between 1747 & 1785.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Yellow, green, blue, pink
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 13 1/2in x 10in (345mm x 245mm)
Plate size: - 13in x 8 1/2in (330mm x 210mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - Light age toning in margins
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background:
In 1524, Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, (1485–1528), in service of the French crown, (famous for sailing through and thereafter naming the entrance to New York Bay as the Verrazzano Narrows, including now in the 20th century, a suspension bridge also named for him) sailed past the Chesapeake, but did not enter the Bay. Spanish explorer Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón sent an expedition out from Hispaniola in 1525 that reached the mouths of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. It may have been the first European expedition to explore parts of the Chesapeake Bay, which the Spaniards called Bahía de Santa María (Bay of St. Mary) or Bahía de Madre de Dios.(Bay of the Mother of God) De Ayllón established a short-lived Spanish mission settlement, San Miguel de Gualdape, in 1526 along the Atlantic coast. Many scholars doubt the assertion that it was as far north as the Chesapeake; most place it in present-day Georgias Sapelo Island. In 1573, Pedro Menéndez de Márquez, the governor of Spanish Florida, conducted further exploration of the Chesapeake. In 1570, Spanish Jesuits established the short-lived Ajacan Mission on one of the Chesapeake tributaries in present-day Virginia.
The arrival of English colonists under Sir Walter Raleigh and Humphrey Gilbert in the late 16th century to found a colony, later settled at Roanoke Island (off the present-day coast of North Carolina) for the Virginia Company, marked the first time that the English approached the gates to the Chesapeake Bay between the capes of Cape Charles and Cape Henry. Three decades later, in 1607, Europeans again entered the Bay. Captain John Smith of England explored and mapped the Bay between 1607 and 1609, resulting in the publication in 1612 back in the British Isles of A Map of Virginia. Smith wrote in his journal: Heaven and earth have never agreed better to frame a place for mans habitation. The new laying out of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, the United States first designated all-water National Historic Trail, was created in July 2006, by the National Park Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior following the route of Smiths historic 17th-century voyage. Because of economic hardships and civil strife in the Mother Land, there was a mass migration of southern English Cavaliers and their servants to the Chesapeake Bay region between 1640 and 1675, to both of the new colonies of the Province of Virginia and the Province of Maryland.
The Chesapeake Bay was the site of the Battle of the Chesapeake (also known as the Battle of the Capes, Cape Charles and Cape Henry) in 1781, during which the French fleet defeated the Royal Navy in the decisive naval battle of the American Revolutionary War. The British defeat enabled General George Washington and his French allied armies under Comte de Rochambeau to march down from New York and bottle up the rampaging southern British Army of Lord Cornwallis from the North and South Carolinas at the siege of Battle of Yorktown in Yorktown, Virginia. Their marching route from Newport, Rhode Island through Connecticut, New York State, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware to the Head of Elk by the Susquehanna River along the shores and also partially sailing down the Bay to Virginia. It is also the subject of a designated National Historic Trail under the National Park Service as the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route.
The Bay would again see conflict during War of 1812. During the year of 1813, from their base on Tangier Island, British naval forces under the command of Admiral George Cockburn raided and plundered several towns on the shores of the Chesapeake, treating the Bay as if it were a British Lake. The Chesapeake Bay Flotilla, a fleet of shallow-draft armed barges under the command of U.S. Navy Commodore Joshua Barney, was assembled to stall British shore raids and attacks. After months of harassment by Barney, the British landed on the west side of the Patuxent at Benedict, Maryland, the Chesapeake Flotilla was scuttled, and the British trekked overland to burn the U.S. Capitol in August 1814. A few days later in a pincer attack, they also sailed up the Potomac River to attack Fort Washington below the National Capital and demanded a ransom from the nearby port town of Alexandria, Virginia.
There were so-called Oyster Wars in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Until the mid-20th century, oyster harvesting rivaled the crab industry among Chesapeake watermen, a dwindling breed whose skipjacks and other workboats were supplanted by recreational craft in the latter part of the century.
In the 1960s, the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant on the historic Calvert Cliffs in Calvert County on the Western Shore of Maryland began using water from the Bay to cool its reactor.

• Title : Plan De La Ville De Boston Et Ses Environs Renvoy pour la Ville de Boston...
• Date : 1756
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
• Ref:  93122
• Size: 15 1/2in x 10 1/2in (395mm x 270mm)

Description:
This original hand coloured antique map of Boston and surrounding areas - one of the earliest obtainable maps of the city - by Jacques Nicholas Bellin in 1756 - was published in the French edition of Antoine-François Prevosts 20 volume L Histoire Generale des Voyages published by Pierre de Hondt in the Hague between 1747 & 1785.

Beautifully hand coloured map with great street and building detail in both Boston and Charlestown, showing parts of Ronde Isle and the mainland. Important buildings and areas identified in an idex at the left of the map. Including three cannon batteries, the Presbyterian Church, the Quaker temple, the Anabaptist Church, the City Hall, the Armory, Faneuil Hall (Spelled Fanal), etc. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Original & later
Colors used: - Blue, pink, red, green, yellow
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 15 1/2in x 10 1/2in (395mm x 270mm)
Plate size: - 11 1/2in x 7 1/2in (285mm x 190mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None

Background: 
Boston is the capital city and most populous municipality of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States.
Boston is one of the oldest cities in the United States, founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from England. It was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston. Upon U.S. independence from Great Britain, it continued to be an important port and manufacturing hub as well as a center for education and culture.
In the 1820s, Boston\\\'s population grew rapidly, and the city\\\'s ethnic composition changed dramatically with the first wave of European immigrants. Irish immigrants dominated the first wave of newcomers during this period, especially following the Irish Potato Famine; by 1850, about 35,000 Irish lived in Boston. In the latter half of the 19th century, the city saw increasing numbers of Irish, Germans, Lebanese, Syrians, French Canadians, and Russian and Polish Jews settling in the city. By the end of the 19th century, Boston\\\'s core neighborhoods had become enclaves of ethnically distinct immigrants. Italians inhabited the North End, Irish dominated South Boston and Charlestown, and Russian Jews lived in the West End. Irish and Italian immigrants brought with them Roman Catholicism. Currently, Catholics make up Boston\\\'s largest religious community and the Irish have played a major role in Boston politics since the early 20th century; prominent figures include the Kennedys, Tip O\\\'Neill, and John F. Fitzgerald.
Between 1631 and 1890, the city tripled its area through land reclamation by filling in marshes, mud flats, and gaps between wharves along the waterfront. The largest reclamation efforts took place during the 19th century; beginning in 1807, the crown of Beacon Hill was used to fill in a 50-acre mill pond that later became the Haymarket Square area. The present-day State House sits atop this lowered Beacon Hill. Reclamation projects in the middle of the century created significant parts of the South End, the West End, the Financial District, and Chinatown.
After the Great Boston Fire of 1872, workers used building rubble as landfill along the downtown waterfront. During the mid- to-late 19th century, workers filled almost 600 acres of brackish Charles River marshlands west of Boston Common with gravel brought by rail from the hills of Needham Heights. The city annexed the adjacent towns of South Boston (1804), East Boston (1836), Roxbury (1868), Dorchester (including present day Mattapan and a portion of South Boston) (1870), Brighton (including present day Allston) (1874), West Roxbury (including present day Jamaica Plain and Roslindale) (1874), Charlestown (1874), and Hyde Park (1912). Other proposals were unsuccessful for the annexation of Brookline, Cambridge and Chelsea.

• Title : Plan De La Ville De Boston Et Ses Environs Renvoy pour la Ville de Boston...
• Date : 1756
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
• Ref:  93360
• Size: 16in x 10in (405mm x 255mm)

Description:
This original antique map of Boston and surrounding areas - one of the earliest obtainable maps of the city - by Jacques Nicholas Bellin in 1756 - was published in the French edition of Antoine-François Prevosts 20 volume L Histoire Generale des Voyages published by Pierre de Hondt in the Hague between 1747 & 1785.

Beautiful map with great street and building detail in both Boston and Charlestown, showing parts of Ronde Isle and the mainland. Important buildings and areas identified in an idex at the left of the map. Including three cannon batteries, the Presbyterian Church, the Quaker temple, the Anabaptist Church, the City Hall, the Armory, Faneuil Hall (Spelled Fanal), etc. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - 
Colors used: - 
General color appearance: - 
Paper size: - 16in x 10in (405mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 11 1/2in x 7 1/2in (285mm x 190mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None

Background: 
Boston is the capital city and most populous municipality of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States.
Boston is one of the oldest cities in the United States, founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from England. It was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston. Upon U.S. independence from Great Britain, it continued to be an important port and manufacturing hub as well as a center for education and culture.
In the 1820s, Boston\\\'s population grew rapidly, and the city\\\'s ethnic composition changed dramatically with the first wave of European immigrants. Irish immigrants dominated the first wave of newcomers during this period, especially following the Irish Potato Famine; by 1850, about 35,000 Irish lived in Boston. In the latter half of the 19th century, the city saw increasing numbers of Irish, Germans, Lebanese, Syrians, French Canadians, and Russian and Polish Jews settling in the city. By the end of the 19th century, Boston\\\'s core neighborhoods had become enclaves of ethnically distinct immigrants. Italians inhabited the North End, Irish dominated South Boston and Charlestown, and Russian Jews lived in the West End. Irish and Italian immigrants brought with them Roman Catholicism. Currently, Catholics make up Boston\\\'s largest religious community and the Irish have played a major role in Boston politics since the early 20th century; prominent figures include the Kennedys, Tip O\\\'Neill, and John F. Fitzgerald.
Between 1631 and 1890, the city tripled its area through land reclamation by filling in marshes, mud flats, and gaps between wharves along the waterfront. The largest reclamation efforts took place during the 19th century; beginning in 1807, the crown of Beacon Hill was used to fill in a 50-acre mill pond that later became the Haymarket Square area. The present-day State House sits atop this lowered Beacon Hill. Reclamation projects in the middle of the century created significant parts of the South End, the West End, the Financial District, and Chinatown.
After the Great Boston Fire of 1872, workers used building rubble as landfill along the downtown waterfront. During the mid- to-late 19th century, workers filled almost 600 acres of brackish Charles River marshlands west of Boston Common with gravel brought by rail from the hills of Needham Heights. The city annexed the adjacent towns of South Boston (1804), East Boston (1836), Roxbury (1868), Dorchester (including present day Mattapan and a portion of South Boston) (1870), Brighton (including present day Allston) (1874), West Roxbury (including present day Jamaica Plain and Roslindale) (1874), Charlestown (1874), and Hyde Park (1912). Other proposals were unsuccessful for the annexation of Brookline, Cambridge and Chelsea.

• Title: Carte Exacte de la Cote du Cap Verd
• Date: 1757
• Condition : (A+) Fine Condition
• Ref: 25801
• Size: 10in x 7in (255mm x 180mm)

Description:
This fine, original copper-plate engraved antique map & view of Cape Verde & Goree Island Dakar, Senegal, West Africa by Nicolas Bellin in 1757 was published in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyages written by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

Cap-Vert or the Cape Verde Peninsula is located at the westernmost point of the continent of Africa and of the Old World mainland. Portuguese explorers called it Cabo Verde or \"Green Cape\", but it is not to be confused with the Cape Verde islands, which are some 560 kilometres (350 mi) further west. Dakar, the capital of Senegal, is located near the southern tip.

The Island of Goree is one of the 19 communes d arrondissement (districts) of the city of Dakar, Senegal. It is an 18.2-hectare (45-acre) island located 2 kilometres at sea from the main harbor of Dakar infamous as a major port in the Atlantic slave trade.
Other centers of the slave trade in Senegal were located further north, at Saint-Louis, Senegal, or to the south in the Gambian river mouths
The name is a corruption of its original Dutch name Goedereede, meaning \"good roadstead\".
Now part of the city of Dakar, it was a minor port and site of European settlement along the coast. Being almost devoid of drinking water, the island was not settled before the arrival of Europeans. The Portuguese were the first to establish a presence on Goree in 1450, where they built a small stone chapel and used land as a cemetery.
Goree is known as the location of the House of Slaves (French: Maison des esclaves), built by an Afro-French Métis family about 1780–1784. The House of Slaves is one of the oldest houses on the island. It is now used as a tourist destination to show the horrors of the slave trade throughout the Atlantic world.
After the decline of the slave trade from Senegal in the 1770s and 1780s, the town became an important port for the shipment of peanuts, peanut oil, gum arabic, ivory, and other products of the \"legitimate\" trade.
The island of Goree was one of the first places in Africa to be settled by Europeans, as the Portuguese settled on the island in 1444. It was captured by the United Netherlands in 1588, then the Portuguese again, and again the Dutch. They named it after the Dutch island of Goeree, before the British took it over under Robert Holmes in 1664.
After the French invasion in 1677, the island remained continuously French until 1960. There were brief periods of British occupation during the various wars fought by France and Britain. In 1960 Senegal was granted independence. The island was notably taken and occupied by the British between 1758 and 1763 following the Capture of Goree and wider Capture of Senegal during the Seven Years\' War before being returned to France at the Treaty of Paris (1763). For a brief time between 1779 and 1783, Goree was again under British control, until ceded again to France in 1783 at the Treaty of Paris (1783). During that time, the infamous Joseph Wall was Lieutenant Governor there, who had a man unlawfully flogged to death in 1782.
Goree was principally a trading post, administratively attached to Saint-Louis, capital of the Colony of Senegal. Apart from slaves, beeswax, hides and grain were also traded. The population of the island fluctuated according to circumstances, from a few hundred free Africans and Creoles to about 1,500. There would have been few European residents at any one time.
In the 18th and 19th century, Goree was home to a Franco-African Creole, or Metis, community of merchants with links to similar communities in Saint-Louis and the Gambia, and across the Atlantic to France\'s colonies in the Americas. Metis women, called signares from the Portuguese senhora descendants of African women and European traders, were especially important to the city’s business life. The signares owned ships and property and commanded male clerks. They were also famous for cultivating fashion and entertainment. One such signare, Anne Rossignol, lived in Saint-Domingue (the modern Haiti) in the 1780s before the Haitian Revolution.
In February 1794 during the French Revolution, France was the first nation in the world to abolish slavery. The slave trade from Senegal stopped. In April 1801, however, Gorée was captured by the British again.
In March 1815, during his political comeback known as the Hundred Days, Napoleon definitively abolished the slave trade to build relations with Great Britain. (Scotland had never recognized slavery and England finally abolished the slave trade in 1807.) This time, abolition continued.
As the trade in slaves declined in the late eighteenth century, Goree converted to legitimate commerce. The tiny city and port were ill situated for the shipment of industrial quantities of peanuts, which began arriving in bulk from the mainland. Consequently, its merchants established a presence directly on the mainland, first in Rufisque (1840) and then in Dakar (1857). Many of the established families started to leave the island.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Yellow, green
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 10in x 7in (255mm x 180mm)
Plate size: - 9in x 6 1/2in (250mm x 165mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese.
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.
The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas.
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica.
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

• Title : Plan De La Ville de De St Salvador Capitale du Bresil
• Ref #:  61100
• Size: 14in x 10in (355mm x 255mm)
• Date : 1757
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description: 
This beautifully hand coloured original antique map* and view of the Brazilian City of Salvador - with building index - by Jacques Nicolas Bellin was published in the 1757 French & Dutch edition of Antoine-François Prevosts 20 volume L`Histoire Generale des Voyages published by Pierre de Hondt in the Hague between 1747 & 1785.

Background: Salvador, also known as São Salvador, Salvador de Bahia, and Salvador da Bahia (Brazilian Portuguese) is the capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia. With 2.9 million people (2013), it is the largest city proper in the Northeast Region and the 3rd-largest city proper in the country, after São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
Salvador lies on a small, roughly triangular peninsula that separates the Bay of All Saints from the Atlantic Ocean. The bay is the largest in Brazil and the 2nd-largest in the world. It was first reached by Gaspar de Lemos in 1501, just one year after Cabral's purported discovery of Brazil. During his second voyage for Portugal, the  Italian  explorer Amerigo Vespucci sighted the bay on All Saints' Day (November 1) 1502 and, in honor of the date and his parish church in Florence, he named it the Bay of the Holy Savior of All the Saints. The first European to settle nearby was Diogo Álvares Correia  ("Caramuru"), who was shipwrecked off the end of the peninsula in 1509. He lived among the Tupinambá, marrying Guaibimpara and others. In 1531, Martim Afonso de Sousa led an expedition from Mount St Paul (Morro de São Paulo) and, in 1534,Francisco Pereira Coutinho, the first captain of Bahia, established the settlement of Pereira in modern Salvador's Ladeira da Barra neighborhood. Mistreatment of the Tupinambá by the settlers caused them to turn hostile and the Portuguese were forced to flee to Porto Seguro c. 1546. An attempted restoration of the colony the next year ended in shipwreck and cannibalism.
The present city was established as the fortress of Sao Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos ("Holy Savior of the Bay of All Saints") in 1549 by Portuguese settlers  under Tomé de Sousa, Brazil's first governor-general. It is one of the oldest cities founded by Europeans in the Americas. From a cliff overlooking the Bay of All Saints, it served as Brazil's first capital and quickly became a major port for its slave trade  and sugarcane industry. Salvador was long divided into an upper and a lower city, divided by a sharp escarpment some 85 meters (279 ft) high. The upper city formed the administrative, religious, and primary residential districts while the lower city was the commercial center, with a port and market.
In the Catholic Church, Brazil and the rest of the Portuguese Empire were initially administered as part of the Diocese of Funchal in Portugal but, in 1551, Salvador became the seat of the first Catholic diocese erected in Brazil. The first parish church was the mud-and-thatch Church of Our Lady of Help (Igreja da Nossa Senhora da Ajuda) erected by the Jesuits, which served as the first cathedral of the diocese until the Jesuits finished construction of the original basilica on the Terreiro de Jesus in 1553. Its bishop was made independent of Lisbon at the request of King Pedro II in 1676; he served as the primate of Congo and Angola until the elevation of Luanda on 13 January 1844 and still serves as the national primate of Brazil.
In 1572, the Governorate of Brazil was divided into the separate governorates of Bahia in the north and Rio de Janeiro in the south. These were reunited as Brazil six years later, then redivided from 1607 to 1613. By that time, Portugal had become united with Spain and was ruled from Madrid by its kings. In 1621, King Philip III  replaced the Governorate of Brazil with the states of Brazil, still based in Salvador and now controlling the south, and the Maranhão, which was centered on São Luís and controlled what is now northern Brazil. As Spain was then prosecuting a war against the independence of the Dutch, the Dutch East and West India companies tried to conquer Brazil from them. Salvador played a strategically vital role against Dutch Brazil, but was captured and sacked by a West India Company fleet under Jacob Willekens and Piet Hein on 10 May 1624. Johan van Dorth administered the colony before his assassination, freeing its slaves. The city was recaptured by a Luso-Spanish fleet under Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo y Mendoza on 1 May 1625. John Maurice's two subsequent attempts to retake the town in April and May of 1638 were unsuccessful.
In 1763, the colonial administration was removed to Rio de Janeiro and elevated to a viceroyalty. Salvador remained the heart of the Recôncavo, Bahia's rich agricultural maritime district, but was largely outside Brazil's early modernization. The area formed a center of royal support against Pedro I's declaration of independence on September 7, 1822. Its elites initially remained loyal to the Portuguese crown while rebels from Cachoeira besieged them for a year until finally receiving Portugal's surrender of the town on July 2, 1823, which is now celebrated as Bahia Independence Day. The local elite was similarly hesitant during Manuel Deodoro da Fonseca's coup that established the republic by in 1889.
Owing to whales' use of the Bay of All Saints as a mating ground, Salvador became a large whaling port during the 19th century but the trade had already begun to fall off by the 1870s.
Under the empire and republic, however, the town slowly began to industrialize. In 1873, Brazil's first elevator, the powerful hydraulic Elevador Lacerda, was constructed to connect the city's upper and lower towns. Having undergone several upgrades, it continues in use. By the First World War, it was joined by a second elevato and Salvador was connected to four railroads: the Bahia & Alagoinhas to Joazeiro, the Bahia Central, the Nazareth Tramway, and a short line to Santo Amaro. Its central districts and the major suburbs of Bomsim and Victoria were served by four streetcar lines, which had begun to electrify. It also served as a port of call for most steamship lines trading between Europe and South America. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color: - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Yellow, green, red, brown.
General color appearance: - Authentic and fresh
Paper size: - 14in x 10in (355mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 12in x 8in (305mm x 205mm)
Margins: - Min 1in (25mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None

• Title : Plan de la Nouvelle Orleans
• Ref #:  61088
• Size: 14 1/2in x 10in (360mm x 255mm)
• Date : 1764
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description: 
This beautifully hand coloured original antique map* a scarce, early plan of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana by Jacques Nicolas Bellin was published in the 1757 French edition of Antoine-François Prevosts 20 volume L`Histoire Generale des Voyages published by Pierre de Hondt in the Hague between 1747 & 1785.

Background: This scarce 1757 map by Bellin is one of the earliest obtainable maps of New Orleans. Oriented to the east, Bellin's map covers the original settlement of New Orleans along the Mississippi River and inland as far theFosse plein d'eau (roughly translated: 'Pit full of Water') near modern day Dauphine Street, and from modern day Iberville Street (shown but not named) to modern day Barracks Street (shown but not named). The map shows some 100 buildings with some 18 specifically identified via an alphabetically coded table set just above the map.
Among the locations noted in the key is one that provides an eerie echo of the slave trade. Item Q is identified as Cabanes des Negroes qui prennent soin Moulin or 'Cabins of Negros that care for mill.' Note how these cabins, as well as the adjacent mill, are both well outside the ordered structure of the city as well as conveniently located near the Corps de Garde des Bourgeois

Antoine François Prévost d'Exiles  1697 - 1763, usually known simply as the Abbé Prévost, was a French author and novelist. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color: - off white
Age of map color: - Original
Colors used: - Yellow, green, red, brown.
General color appearance: - Authentic and fresh
Paper size: - 14 1/2in x 10in (360mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 11in x 8in (280mm x 205mm)
Margins: - Min 1in (25mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued, printers crease along left fold
Verso: - None

• Title : Suite de la Coste de Guinee...Les Royaumes de Koto, de Popo, De Whidah ou Juida Et D Ardra
• Size: 14in x 9 1/2in (355mm x 240mm)
• Ref #:  15985
• Date : 1757
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This fine large, original copper-plate engraved antique map from the Volta River in Ghana to Togo, Benin to Lagos in Nigeria (know early as Koto, Popo, Wydah & Juida) by Jacques Nicolas Bellin in 1757 was published in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyages written by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Green, Yellow, 
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 14in x 9 1/2in (355mm x 240mm)
Plate size: - 11in x 8 1/2in (280mm x 215mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (6mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese.
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.
The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas.
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica.
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

• Title : Carte De La Caroline et Georgie...Par M B. 1757
• Ref #:  61095
• Size: 14in x 10in (355mm x 255mm)
• Date : 1757
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description: 
This beautifully hand coloured original antique map* of Georgia, North & South Carolina by Jacques Nicolas Bellin, was engraved in 1757 - the date is engraved in the title cartouche - and was published in the 1757 French edition of Antoine-François Prevosts 20 volume L`Histoire Generale des Voyages published by Pierre de Hondt in the Hague between 1747 & 1785.

Antoine François Prévost d'Exiles  1697 - 1763, usually known simply as the Abbé Prévost, was a French author and novelist. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color: - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Yellow, green, red, brown.
General color appearance: - Authentic and fresh
Paper size: - 14in x 10in (355mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 12in x 8in (305mm x 205mm)
Margins: - Min 1in (25mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None

• Title : Carte Des Isles De Madere Et Porto Santo
• Ref #:  25797
• Size: 10in x 7in (255mm x 180mm)
• Date : 1757
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description: 
This fine, original copper-plate engraved antique map of Madeira & Porto Santo Islands in the Madeira Archipelago, Portugal by Nicolas Bellin in 1757 was published in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyages written by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago situated in the north Atlantic Ocean, southwest of Portugal. Its total population was estimated in 2011 at 267,785. The capital of Madeira is Funchal on the main island's south coast.
It is just under 400 kilometres (250 mi) north of Tenerife, Canary Islands. Since 1976, the archipelago has been one of the two Autonomous regions of Portugal (the other being the Azores, located to the northwest). It includes the islands of Madeira, Porto Santo, and the Desertas, administered together with the separate archipelago of the Savage Islands. It is an outermost region of the European Union.
Madeira was claimed by Portuguese sailors in the service of Prince Henry the Navigator in 1419 and settled after 1420. The archipelago is considered to be the first territorial discovery of the exploratory period of the Portuguese Age of Discovery, which extended from 1415 to 1542. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color: - off white
Age of map color: - Original
Colors used: - Yellow, green, red, brown.
General color appearance: - Authentic and fresh
Paper size: - 10in x 7in (255mm x 180mm)
Plate size: - 9 1/2n x 7in (240mm x 180mm)
Margins: - Min ½in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese.
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.
The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas.
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica.
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

• Title : Carte De La Nouvelle Angleterre...Par M B. 1757
• Ref #:  61097
• Size: 14 1/2in x 10in (370mm x 255mm)
• Date : 1757
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This beautifully hand coloured original antique map of New England & the NE corridor of the US from Pennsylvania to Maine was engraved in 1757 - the date is engraved in the title - and was published in the 1757 French edition of Antoine-François Prevosts 20 volume L`Histoire Generale des Voyages published by Pierre de Hondt in the Hague between 1747 & 1785.

Antoine François Prévost d'Exiles  1697 - 1763, usually known simply as the Abbé Prévost, was a French author and novelist. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color: - white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Green, yellow, red
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 14 1/2in x 10in (370mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 12 1/2in x 9in (320mm x 225mm)
Margins: - min. 1in (25mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued, ink bleed from original plate
Verso: - None

• Title : Carte de la Riviere de la Plata...
• Ref #:  61103
• Size: 10in x 7 1/2in (255mm x 190mm)
• Date : 1757
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This fine, original copper-plate engraved antique map of the Río de la Plata of Argentina, by Jacques Nicolas Bellin in 1757 was published in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyageswritten by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

The Río de la Plata River Plate in British English and La Plata River (occasionally Plata River) in other English-speaking countries — is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay and the Paraná rivers. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean, forming a funnel-shaped indentation on the southeastern coastline of South America. Depending on the geographer, the Río de la Plata may be considered a river, an estuary, a gulf or a marginal sea. For those who consider it a river—as is the case mostly in Argentina—it would be the widest river in the world, with a maximum width of about 220 kilometres.
The Río de la Plata was first explored by the Portuguese in 1512–13. The Spanish first explored it in 1516, when the navigator Juan Díaz de Solís traversed it during his search for a passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, calling it the Mar Dulce, or \"freshwater sea.\" The Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan briefly explored the estuary in 1520 before his expedition continued its circumnavigation, and in 1521 Cristóvão Jacques also explored the Plate River estuary and ascended the Parana River for the first time, entering it for about 23 leagues (around 140 km) to near the present city of Rosario.[12] The area was also visited by Francis Drake\'s fleet in early 1578, in the early stages of his circumnavigation.
Explorer Sebastian Cabot made a detailed study of the river and its tributaries and gave it its modern name. He explored the Paraná and Uruguay rivers between 1526 and 1529, ascending the Paraná as far as the present-day city of Asunción, and also explored up the Paraguay River. Cabot acquired silver trinkets trading with the Guaraní near today\'s Asunción, and these objects (together with legends of a \"Sierra de la Plata\" in the South American interior brought back by earlier explorers) inspired him to rename the river \"Río de la Plata\" (\"River of Silver\").
The first European colony was the city of Buenos Aires, founded by Pedro de Mendoza on 2 February 1536. This settlement, however, was quickly abandoned; the failure to establish a settlement on the estuary led to explorations upriver and the founding of Asunción in 1537. Buenos Aires was subsequently refounded by Juan de Garay on 11 June 1580.
The city of Buenos Aires sits along the southern coast of the Río de la Plata.
During the colonial era the Río de la Plata was made the center of the Governorate of the Río de la Plata, but the region\'s development was largely neglected by the Spanish Empire until the 1760s, when Portugal and Britain threatened to expand into the estuary. The governorate was elevated to form the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776. In 1806 and 1807 the river was the scene of an important British invasion that aimed to occupy the area.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Green, yellow, orange
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 14in x 10in (355mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 12in x 8in (305mm x 205mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - Light age toning in margins
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese. 
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.
The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas. 
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean. 
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica. 
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

• Title : Carte de la Coste et Pays voisins das Rivieres des Sierra Leona et de Sherbro
• Size: 10in x 7in (255mm x 180mm)
• Ref #:  21174
• Date : 1757
• Condition: (A) Very Good Condition

Description:
This fine, original copper-plate engraved antique map of the coast and river mouth of the Sierra Leone & the Sherbro Rivers in Sierrra Leone West Africa by Nicolas Bellin in 1757 was published in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyageswritten by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

The Sierra Leone River is a river estuary on the Atlantic Ocean in Western Sierra Leone. It is formed by the Bankasoka River and Rokel River and is between 4 and 10 miles wide (6–16 km) and 25 miles (40 km) long. It holds the major ports of Queen Elizabeth II Quay and Pepel. The estuary is also important for shipping. It is the largest natural harbour in the African continent. Several islands, including Tasso Island (the largest), Tombo Island, and the historically important Bunce Island, are located in the estuary.

Sherbro Island is in the Atlantic Ocean, located in Bonthe District off the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. The Sherbro people make up by far the largest ethnic group in the island.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Yellow, green
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 10in x 7in (255mm x 180mm)
Plate size: - 9in x 6 1/2in (250mm x 165mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Repair to left of image
Verso: - Repair as noted

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese.
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.
The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas.
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica.
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

• Title : Carte D Une Partie de la Coste D Afrique Depuis Tanit Jusqua la Riviere du Senegal
• Size: 10in x 7in (255mm x 180mm)
• Ref #:  25792
• Date : 1757
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This fine original copper-plate engraved antique map of Southern Senegal in West Africa including what is today part of the Saloum National Park in the Saloum Delta by Jacques Nicolas Bellin was published in 1757 in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyages written by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Green, yellow, orange
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 10in x 7in (255mm x 180mm)
Plate size: - 10in x 7in (255mm x 180mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese.
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.

The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas.
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica.
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

• Title : Carte de la Baye de Sainte Helene
• Size: 10in x 7 1/2in (255mm x 190mm)
• Ref #:  25783
• Date : 1757
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This fine original copper-plate engraved antique map of St Helena Bay in Western Cape South Africa by Jacques Nicolas Bellin was published in 1757 in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyages written by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

Historically, Saint Helena Bay is the location where Vasco da Gama, first set foot in South Africa. The date of this event was recorded as November 7, 1497.
The bay was named Bahia de Santa Helena (Portuguese for its current name) after Saint Helena a devout, influential Christian and mother of Constantine I. This location was also the first setting of a battle between the indigenous Khoikhoi people and early European explorers.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 10in x 7 1/2in (255mm x 190mm)
Plate size: - 10in x 7 1/2in (255mm x 190mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese.
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.

The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas.
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica.
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

• Title : Carte De La Louisiane...Par M B. 1757
• Ref #:  61094
• Size: 14in x 10in (365mm x 260mm)
• Date : 1757
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description: 
This beautifully hand coloured original antique map of The Colonial United States, from the Great Lakes to Louisiana, Texas and New Mexico was engraved in 1757 - the date is engraved in the title cartouche - and was published in the 1757 French edition of Antoine-François Prevosts 20 volume L`Histoire Generale des Voyages published by Pierre de Hondt in the Hague between 1747 & 1785. 
Antoine François Prévost d'Exiles  1697 - 1763, usually known simply as the Abbé Prévost, was a French author and novelist. (Ref: Tooley; M&B) 

General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color: - white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Green, yellow, red
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 14in x 10in (365mm x 260mm)
Plate size: - 12 1/2in x 9 1/2in (320mm x 230mm)
Margins: - min. 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None

• Title : Cours de la Riviere de Senegal Depuis le Desert Jusqu a Isle de Morsil...
• Size: 10in x 7in (255mm x 180mm)
• Ref #:  25785
• Date : 1757
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This fine, original copper-plate engraved antique map of the Senegal River in the Bethio & N Dombo regions of Northern Senegal and Mauritania in West Africa by Nicolas Bellin in 1757 was published in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyages written by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

The Senegal River is a 1,086 km (675 mi) long river in West Africa that forms the border between Senegal and Mauritania.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Yellow, green
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 10in x 7in (255mm x 180mm)
Plate size: - 9in x 6 1/2in (250mm x 165mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: 
One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese.
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.
The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas.
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica.
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

• Title: Carte de la Guyana...1757
• Date: 1757
• Condition : (A+) Fine Condition
• Ref: 60940
• Size: 15in x 10in (380mm x 255mm)

Description:
This fine, original copper-plate engraved antique map of Guyana, South America by Jacques Nicolas Bellin was engraved in 1757 - dated - and was published in Antoine François Prevosts 15 volumes of Histoire Generale des Voyages written by Prevost & other authors between 1746-1790.

Guyana officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a sovereign state on the northern mainland of South America. It is, however, often considered part of the Caribbean region because of its strong cultural, historical, and political ties with other Anglo Caribbean countries and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Guyana is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Brazil to the south and southwest, Suriname to the east and Venezuela to the west.
There are nine indigenous tribes residing in Guyana: the Wai Wai, Macushi, Patamona, Lokono, Kalina, Wapishana, Pemon, Akawaio and Warao. Historically the Lokono and Kalina tribes dominated Guyana. Although Christopher Columbus sighted Guyana during his third voyage (in 1498), and Sir Walter Raleigh wrote an account of its discovery in 1596, the Dutch were the first to establish colonies: Essequibo (1616), Berbice (1627), and Demerara (1752). After the British assumed control in 1796, the Dutch formally ceded the area in 1814. In 1831 the three separate colonies became a single British colony known as British Guiana.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Green, yellow, orange
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 15in x 10in (380mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 13in x 9 1/2in (330mm x 245mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None

One of Antoine Francois Prevosts monumental undertakings was his history of exploration & discovery in 15 volumes titledHistoire Générale des Voyages written between 1746-1759 and was extended to 20 volumes after his death by various authors.
The 20 volumes cover the early explorations & discoveries on 3 continents: Africa (v. 1-5), Asia (v. 5-11), and America (v. 12-15) with material on the finding of the French, English, Dutch, and Portugese. 
A number of notable cartographers and engravers contributed to the copper plate maps and views to the 20 volumes including Nicolas Bellin, Jan Schley, Chedel, Franc Aveline, Fessard, and many others.
The African volumes cover primarily coastal countries of West, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus the Congo, Madagascar, Arabia and the Persian Gulf areas. 
The Asian volumes cover China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, Philippines, and countries bordering the Indian Ocean. 
Volume 11 includes Australia and Antarctica. 
Volumes 12-15 cover voyages and discoveries in America, including the East Indies, South, Central and North America.
Volumes 16-20 include supplement volumes & tables along with continuation of voyages and discoveries in Russia, Northern Europe, America, Asia & Australia.

• Title : Carte Reduite des Isles Britanniques Quatrieme Feuille Partie Septentrionale de l Ecosse. 1757
• Size: 37 1/2in x 25 1/2in (950mm x 650mm)
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
• Date : 1757
• Ref #:  35501

Description:
This very large finely engraved original copper-plate engraved antique map, Sea Chart, of northern Scotland, Orkney & Shetland Islands, Lewis & Harris - along with relief inset of Orkneys - by Jacques Nicolas Bellin in 1757 - dated in the title cartouche.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 37 1/2in x 25 1/2in (950mm x 650mm)
Plate size: - 35 1/2in x 24in (900mm x 580mm)
Margins: - Min 1in (25mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: 
In the 14th century, Orkney and Shetland remained a Norwegian possession, but Scottish influence was growing. Jon Haraldsson, who was murdered in Thurso in 1231, was the last of an unbroken line of Norse jarls, and thereafter the earls were Scots noblemen of the houses of Angus and St Clair. On the death of Haakon VI in 1380, Norway formed a political union with Denmark, after which the interest of the royal house in the islands declined. In 1469, Shetland was pledged by Christian I, in his capacity as King of Norway, as security against the payment of the dowry of his daughter Margaret, betrothed to James III of Scotland. As the money was never paid, the connection with the Crown of Scotland became permanent. In 1470, William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness ceded his title to James III, and the following year the Northern Isles were directly annexed to the Crown of Scotland, an action confirmed by the Parliament of Scotland in 1472. Nonetheless, Shetlands connection with Norway has proved to be enduring.
From the early 15th century on the Shetlanders sold their goods through the Hanseatic League of German merchantmen. The Hansa would buy shiploads of salted fish, wool and butter, and import salt, cloth, beer and other goods. The late 16th century and early 17th century were dominated by the influence of the despotic Robert Stewart, Earl of Orkney, who was granted the islands by his half-sister Mary Queen of Scots, and his son Patrick. The latter commenced the building of Scalloway Castle, but after his imprisonment in 1609 the Crown annexed Orkney and Shetland again until 1643 when Charles I granted them to William Douglas, 7th Earl of Morton. These rights were held on and off by the Mortons until 1766, when they were sold by James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton to Laurence Dundas.
The trade with the North German towns lasted until the 1707 Act of Union, when high salt duties prevented the German merchants from trading with Shetland. Shetland then went into an economic depression, as the local traders were not as skilled in trading salted fish. However, some local merchant-lairds took up where the German merchants had left off, and fitted out their own ships to export fish from Shetland to the Continent. For the independent farmers of Shetland this had negative consequences, as they now had to fish for these merchant-lairds.
Smallpox afflicted the islands in the 17th and 18th centuries (as it did all of Europe), but as vaccines became available after 1800, health improved. The island was very badly hit by the potato famine of 1846 and the government introduced a Relief Plan for the island under the command of Captain Robert Craigie of the Royal Navy who stayed in Lerwick to oversee the project 1847-1852. During this period Craigie also did much to improve and increase roads on the island.
Population increased to a maximum of 31,670 in 1861. However, British rule came at price for many ordinary people as well as traders. The Shetlanders nautical skills were sought by the Royal Navy. Some 3,000 served during the Napoleonic wars from 1800 to 1815 and press gangs were rife. During this period 120 men were taken from Fetlar alone, and only 20 of them returned home. By the late 19th century 90% of all Shetland was owned by just 32 people, and between 1861 and 1881 more than 8,000 Shetlanders emigrated. With the passing of the Crofters Act in 1886 the Liberal prime minister William Gladstone emancipated crofters from the rule of the landlords. The Act enabled those who had effectively been landowners serfs to become owner-occupiers of their own small farms. By this time fishermen from Holland, who had traditionally gathered each year off the coast of Shetland to fish for herring, triggered an industry in the islands that boomed from around 1880 until the 1920s when stocks of the fish began to dwindle. The production peaked in 1905 at more than a million barrels, of which 708,000 were exported

• Title : Carte De La Louisiane...Par M B. 1757
• Date : 1757
• Size: 15 1/2in x 10 1/2in (395mm x 265mm)
• Ref #:  70701
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This fine, beautifully hand coloured original antique map of the Colonial United States, North America west to the mainly French possessions of Louisiana and further again to the Spanish possessions in Texas and New Mexico, was engraved in 1757 - the date is engraved in the title - and was published by Jacques Nicolas Bellin for Antoine-François Prevosts 20 volume edition of L`Histoire Generale des Voyages published by Pierre de Hondt, The Hague between 1747 & 1785.

Background: The map includes parts of the original 13 colonies from the Carolinas to Georgia and stretches north from the great Lakes to Florida and west to Texas & the Spanish territories. A great map published on the cusp of huge changes in North America.   (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color: - white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Green, yellow, red
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 15 1/2in x 10 1/2in (395mm x 265mm)
Plate size: - 12 1/2in x 9 1/2in (320mm x 230mm)
Margins: - min. 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

• Title : Plan de la Nouvelle Orleans
• Ref #:  35628
• Size: 13 1/2in x 10in (345mm x 255mm)
• Date : 1757
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This original hand coloured copper plate engraved antique map, a very early plan of the city of New Orleans, by Jacques Nicholas Bellin was published in the 1757 French edition of Antoine-François Prevosts 20 volume L Histoire Generale des Voyages published by Pierre de Hondt in the Hague between 1747 & 1785.

This detailed & beautifully executed 18th-century map of New Orleans was first printed in Xavier Charlevoixs Histoire de la Nouvelle France in 1744. The map was subsequently reissued with Provost's Histoire des Voyages in 1750 and in later editions of Charlevoix & Bellins 1764 Petit Atlas Maritime.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Yellow, green, blue, pink
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 13 1/2in x 10in (345mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 11 1/2in x 8in (295mm x 204mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background:
Plan de la Nouvelle Orleans was based on the original manuscript town-plan of the city drafted by Le Blond de la Tour in 1722. The cartographer, Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1703-72), was one of the most significant cartographers of his time. His skill was such that he was eventually appointed Official Hydrographer to the French King. Using the streets of Iberville, Dauphine, and Barracks (current names) along with the Mississippi River as borders, this map almost entirely captures the modern-day French Quarter. Thus, the map encompasses well-known streets such as Bourbon, Chartres, and Royal, with 18 marked locations such as the religious buildings of the Capuchins and Ursulines, the prison, the munitions store, the huts for the African-Americans (slaves) who worked at the mill, and more. Even Jackson Square—a military plaza, a public execution site, a Civil War armory, and today a public gathering spot—is shown on the map as Place d'Armes. New Orleans is depicted (and remains) a highly symmetrical city focused toward the Mississippi. Later state, likely circa 1764; the first state bears a date, has the title in a different position, and includes the note in the lower right corner that the map was engraved by Dheulland.

• Title : Carte De La Nouvelle Angleterre...Par M B. 1757
• Ref #:  92851
• Size: 12in x 9in (305mm x 235mm)
• Date : 1757
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This original hand coloured copper plate engraved antique map of New England from Pennsylvania to Maine - by Jacques Nicholas Bellin in 1757 - dated - and was published in the French edition of Antoine-François Prevosts 20 volume L Histoire Generale des Voyages published by Pierre de Hondt in the Hague between 1747 & 1785.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Yellow, green, blue, pink
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 12in x 9in (305mm x 235mm)
Plate size: - 12in x 9in (305mm x 235mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None

• Title : Plan De La Ville de Buenos - Ayres
• Ref #:  61102
• Size: 14in x 10in (355mm x 255mm)
• Date : 1757
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description: 
This beautifully hand coloured original antique map* a plan of the Capital City of Argentina Buenos Aires by Jacques Nicolas Bellin was published in the 1757 French & Dutch edition of Antoine-François Prevosts 20 volume L`Histoire Generale des Voyages published by Pierre de Hondt in the Hague between 1747 & 1785.

Background: Seaman Juan Díaz de Solís, navigating in the name of Spain, was the first European to reach the Río de la Plata in 1516. His expedition was cut short when he was killed during an attack by the native Charrúa tribe in what is now Uruguay.
The city of Buenos Aires was first established as Ciudad de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre  (literally "City of Our Lady Saint Mary of the Fair Winds") after Our Lady of Bonaria (Patroness Saint of Sardinia) on 2 February 1536 by a Spanish expedition led by Pedro de Mendoza. The settlement founded by Mendoza was located in what is today the San Telmo district of Buenos Aires, south of the city center.
More attacks by the indigenous people forced the settlers away, and in 1542 the site was abandoned. A second (and permanent) settlement was established in 11 June 1580 by Juan de Garay, who arrived by sailing down the Paraná River from Asunción (now the capital of Paraguay). He dubbed the settlement "Santísima Trinidad" and its port became "Puerto de Santa María de los Buenos Aires.
From its earliest days, Buenos Aires depended primarily on trade. During most of the 17th and 18th centuries, Spanish ships were menaced by pirates, so they developed a complex system where ships with military protection were dispatched to Central America, cross the land, from there to Lima, Peru and from it to the inner cities of the viceroyalty. Because of this, products took a very long time to arrive in Buenos Aires, and the taxes generated by the transport made them prohibitive. This scheme frustrated the traders of Buenos Aires, and a thriving contraband industry developed. This also instilled a deep resentment in porteños towards the Spanish authorities.
Sensing these feelings, Charles III of Spain progressively eased the trade restrictions and finally declared Buenos Aires an open port in the late 18th century. The capture of Porto Bello by British forces also fueled the need to foster commerce via the Atlantic route, to the detriment of Lima-based trade. One of his rulings was to split a region from the Viceroyalty of Perú and create instead the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, with Buenos Aires as the capital. However, Charles's placating actions did not have the desired effect, and the porteños, some of them versed in the ideology of the French Revolution, became even more convinced of the need for independence from Spain. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)

General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color: - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Yellow, green, red, brown.
General color appearance: - Authentic and fresh
Paper size: - 14in x 10in (355mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 11 1/2in x 7 1/2in (290mm x 190mm)
Margins: - Min 1in (25mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - Light age toning
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None