Mapmonde ou Description Generale du Globe Terrestre

Lovely double hemisphere world map surrounded by a florid vine pattern with depictions of the sun, moon and a compass rose. The map has California as an island with the coastline above stretching nearly to Asia. 'Terres Australis Inconnues' is connected to 'New Hollande' and there is no sign of New Zealand, or any other Pacific islands. The voyages of Drake, Cavandish, and others are shown and several ships sail the oceans. Below the map are tables of French text listing the nations of the world and geographic terms.

Henri Abraham Chatelain (1684 - 1743) was a Huguenot pastor of Parisian origins. He is best known as a Dutch cartographer and more specifically for his cartographic contribution in the seminal seven volume Atlas Historique, published in Amsterdam between 1705 and 1720. Innovative for its time, the Atlas Historique combined fine engraving and artwork with scholarly studies of geography, history, ethnology, heraldry, and cosmography. Some scholarship suggests that the Atlas Historique was not exclusively compiled by Henri Chatelain, as is commonly believed, but rather was a family enterprise involving Henri, his father Zacharie and his brother, also Zacharie.

Copperplate with fine later hand colour, perfect condition.