Mozambique Bay – French Naval Sea Chart by Bellin, c.1765

East African Coast – French Map by Bellin, Zanzibar to Arabia, 1740 This important French map depicts the eastern coast of Africa from Mozambique and Zanzibar northward to the Horn ...

Two antique maps on one sheet. The upper antique map is titled 'Plan du Fort de Mozambique tiré de Faria' and depicts the island of Mozambique with its fort, settlement, harbor and i...

Map of Martinique by Rigobert Bonne, circa 1768 This is a detailed antique map of Martinique titled “Isle de la Martinique,” engraved by Rigobert Bonne around 1768 for the Atlas Encyclopédique. Bonne, a renowned French hydrographer and successor to Bellin, is celebrated for his scientifically precise and elegantly engraved maps. The map shows Martinique with its mountainous interior, rivers, and settlements labelled, including Fort Royal, Fort St. Pierre, Le Marin, and Le Prêcheur. Coastal features, bays, and capes are marked, along with anchorages important for maritime navigation in the 18th century. The depiction includes relief shown pictorially, characteristic of Bonne’s cartographic style, enhancing both geographic understanding and aesthetic appeal. This copperplate engraving retains original hand colouring outlining the coastlines in delicate blue and brown tones, typical for the period. It served as a key reference for scholars, navigators, and colonial administrators during France’s colonial presence in the Caribbean. Condition: Good condition overall. A strong impression with bright, original hand-colour outlines. General age toning, faint offsetting, and a vertical fold as issued in the atlas. Margins ample all around for framing. Framing suggestions: This historic Caribbean map...

Antique map titled 'Carte du canal de Mosambique, contenant l'Isle de Madagascar avec les Cotes d'Afrique.' Map of Mozambique Channel, containing the Island of Madagascar with the coasts of Africa from Cape of Good Hope to Melinde. The inset map shows the Cape region in South Africa with False Bay, Robben Island etc. Source unknown, to be determined. Artists and Engravers: Rigobert Bonne (1727-1795 ) was one of the most important cartographers of the late 18th century. In 1773 he succeeded Jacques Bellin as Royal Cartographer to France in the office of the Hydrographer at the Depôt de la Marine. Working in his official capacity Bonne compiled some of the most detailed and accurate maps of the period. Bonne's work represents an important step in the evolution of the cartographic ideology away from the decorative work of the 17th and early 18th century towards a more detail oriented and practical aesthetic. With regard to the rendering of terrain Bonne maps...

Jacques Bellin's copper-plate map entitled "Partie de la Coste de Guinee Dupuis la Riviere de Sierra Leona Jusquau Cap das Palmas", depicting the coast of Guinea and Sierra Leone in ...

This historical map of the Island of Cuba was produced in the late 18th century and is taken from an edition of “Atlas de toutes les parties connues du globe terrestre” by the French...

Route du Carosse de Bordeaux, part de Paris tous les Mardis a 11 matin. a et pafse 1765 is a comprehensive map with two routes through the wine country of France starting in Paris going south...

This is a 17th century hand-colored map entitled "Insula Gaditana Isla de Cadiz" from Johannes (Joan) Blaeu's Atlas Maior, published in Amsterdam in 1662. The map provides an excellent plan of Cadiz Island on the southwest coast of Spain, with its harbor, fortifications, agricultural fields and several surrounding salt processing areas. Numerous sailing ships of various sizes are included in and around the harbor and bay, including five large sailing ships, as well as twenty-four smaller ships. There is a small compass rose overlying the bay. The bridge to the mainland from the island is shown on the right. There is an extremely ornate and colorful title cartouche in the lower left, with its mythological figures reminiscent of Raphael’s Galatea fresco at the Villa Farnesina in Rome. The vibrant colors are vividly preserved. The master colorist tried to emulate a painting by using various tones to create a three-dimensional effect.
 Blaeu's name is present in the plate in the lower right. Blaeu stated in his description of Cadiz: “The main wealth of the islanders consists of salt, which they harvest, and
 the tuna fisheries.” 
 This 17th century hand-colored map is framed in an ornate, partially textured bronze-colored wood frame and glazed with UV protected conservation glass. There is a vertical center fold, as issued. There is a faint crease in the lower right and faint color offset on the left from the right side of the map, resulting from having been in an atlas for hundreds of years. Small foci of paint are present in the upper portion of the left margin and in the left corner margin. The map is otherwise in very good condition. Due in large part to their powerful trade empire, the Dutch became known for cartography in the seventeenth century. This period is considered the Golden Age of Dutch cartography. Their publishing houses produced the highest quality work in Europe, particularly those maps and charts of foreign lands, and Dutch map-making set the bar for cartographic accuracy and artistry into the early-eighteenth century. Some of the most well-known cartographers worked in Amsterdam during this period. Perhaps the most famous of these was the Blaeu family. Willem Janszoon Blaeu, set up shop in Amsterdam. His son, Johannes (Joan), succeeded him upon his death in 1638, continuing in his father’s position as Hydrographer to the Dutch East India Company and selling maps to the public. The Blaeu map presses, located near Amsterdam’s Dam Square...