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Description: This beautifully hand coloured original antique map of The Great Lakes of Canada and the US 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.
Background: Very attractive French & Indian War period map of the Great Lakes drawn under the direction of Jacques Nicolas Bellin (1703-1772) the Royal Hydrographer to the King & Director of the Dept. de La Marine in Paris. Bellin's first map of the Lakes was drawn in 1744 from sketches by P. F. X. De Charlevoix (1682-1761), a French Jesuit Missionary who traveled on foot & canoe extensively throughout the area. Since then a number of updated editions were published but the three apocryphal islands in Lake Superior - Isle St. Anne, Isle Ponchartrain & Isle Maurepas drawn in the Lake by de Charlevoix had not yet been eliminated from the map, which includes the River & Settlement at Chicagou on Lake Michigan's southwest shore, & Le Detroit on the Detroit River where it flows into Lake Erie. The Michigan peninsula is still misshapen with a massive mountain range down its center.Lac Alimipegon appears north of Lake Superior. Numerous forts are located:S. Ignace, Niagara, des Miamis, and Toronto to mention a few.
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: - 13in x 8 3/4in (330mm x 225mm) Plate size: - 12in x 8 1/2in (305mm x 210mm) Margins: - Min 1in (25mm)
Imperfections: Margins: - Bottom left margin extended Plate area: - Folds as issued Verso: - None