• Title : Nouvelle Carte des Decouvertes faites par des Vaisseaux Russiens Aux Cótes Inconnues de l'Amerique Septentrionale Avec Les Pars Adjacents A St. Petersbourgh a l'Academie Imperiale des Sciences 1784
• Date : 1784
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
• Ref:  16441
• Size: 26 1/2in x 20 1/2in (675mm x 520mm)

Description: 
This large, beautifully engraved, hand coloured uncommon, original antique map of NW America from California to Alaska & Eastern Russia - after Gerhard Muller's map of 1754 -was published by P Santini (fl. 1776-84)  in his 2 volume edition of Atlas Universal in 1776. 
This Santini/Remondini edition is state 3 of Muller's map. It is an uncommon edition and is a fascinating addition to any collection of the Pacific Northwest.

Background:
This map is an updated version of Gerhard Muller's landmark map of 1754 showing the discoveries of Captains Bering and Tschirikow who landed on the west coast of Canada. Muller was a German scholar who worked for the Russian Imperial Academy of Sciences. He originally published his map in response to Joseph Delisle and Philippe Buache's map that showed previously unknown Russian discoveries and an elaborate (and entirely speculative) depiction of the imaginary voyage of Admiral De Fonte through a Northwest Passage. 

Muller's original version showed an elongated landmass roughly in the shape of the Alaskan Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands. The map was updated several times, most significantly in 1773 after the expedition of Lt. Ivan Synd in which the elongated peninsula was shortened in favor of a large group of islands. Interestingly the speculative Northwest Passage is still shown nearly connecting to Hudson Bay via a mythical River of the West . Muller's map was copied numerous times by different publishers due to increased interest in the region and the De Fonte controversy. (Ref: Portinaro & Knirsch; Tooley; M&B)

General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color: - off white
Age of map color: - Original & later
Colors used: - Pink, yellow, green
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 26 1/2in x 20 1/2in (675mm x 520mm)
Plate size: - 26in x 20in (660mm x 510mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Light creasing along centerfold
Verso: - None