1770 De Vaugondy & Diderot Antique Maps of Cartographical Views of California

Cartographer : Robert De Vaugondy

  • TitleCarte de la Californie suivant / I. La carte manuscrite de l'Amérique de Mathieu Néron Pecci olen dresse à Florence en 1604 / II. Sanson 1656 / III. De L'Isle Amérique Sept. 1700 / IV. le Pere Kino Jesuite en 1705 / V. La Societe des Jésuites en 1767.
  • Ref:  93434
  • Size: 17in x 14in (430mm x 355mm)
  • Date : 1770
  • Condition: (A) Very Good Condition

Description: 
This fine large historically important original hand coloured, copper-plate engraved antique map, illustrating 5 of the most influential depictions of California and its cartographical evolution between 1604 and 1767.
The map was engraved by the important French cartographer Robert De Vaugondy, for the 1770 edition of the Denis Diderot Encyclopaedie Raisonee des Sciences des  Artes. 

- The earliest map (upper right corner) is based upon a manuscript map by Mathieu Neron Pecci, drawn in Florence in 1604. This map also forms the basis of a map popularized in 1770 by Rigobert Bonne.
- The second map is Nicholas Sanson's map of California as an Island, based upon his larger map of 1656. This map was probably the single most influential projection of California as an Island.
- The third map map (lower right) is a portion of Guillaume De L'Isles map of America, published in 1700. While not truly peninsular in nature, it was influential in the shift back toward depicting California as a Peninsula.
- The fourth map (upper center) is a portion of Fra. Eusebio Kino's map, generally credited with being the map which dispelled the California as and Island myth. Issued in 1705, the map is based upon Father Kino's overland expedition from the mainland to the top of the Gulf of Cortez.
- The fifth map is one of the most interesting and enduring maps of California and the Baja (left side). Initially issued by the Society of Jesuits in 1767, it was popularized by Isaak Tirion and was perhaps the most interesting of all maps of Baja California in the 2nd half of the 18th Century.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Yellow, pink
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 17in x 14in (430mm x 355mm)
Plate size: - 16in x 12in (405mm x 315mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - Bottom left margin expended from plate mark
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None

Background:
This map was 1 of 10 maps to appear in the Supplement to Diderot\'s monumental encyclopedia, one of the most influential and widely distirbuted works of the second half of the 18th Century. Diderot\'s goal was to examine and display the popular geographical conceptions of several different parts of the world where the knowledge of the region\'s geogaphy was still largely unknown and evolving. Other maps treat the Northwest Passage, Northeast Passage and the NW Coast of America, among other topics.
A marvelous amalgam and an essential map for collectors of North American & California maps.

Encyclopaedie Raisonee des Sciences des Artes: At the time of publication these maps of Encyclopedie were some of the most in-depth and accurate maps published of Asia, Canada, California and the NW region of America.
Diderot\'s maps were intended to further an understanding of the Western Coast of America, and NE Asia, during a time period immediately prior to Cook\'s voyage to the region - less than a decade later- where numerous theories abounded on the NW Coast of America.(Ref: Tooley; M&B)

$625.00