Depot de la Marine
1745

Antique Chart of the Aegean Sea, Turkey and Greek Archipelago

Carte de l'Archipel présentée à Monseigneur le Comte de Maurepas / par le Sr Grognard, Pilote entretenu du Département de Toulon

DESCRIPTION: Scarce antique chart of the Greek Archipelago including parts of mainland Greece and Turkey. This large copperplate-engraved nautical chart of the Aegean Sea is based on surveys by French naval pilot Arnaud Grognard (1681-1751) and published by the Depot de la Marine.

Dedicated to Jean-Frédéric Phélypeaux comte de Maurepas (1701-1781). Interesting signed approval by Jacques Bellin, of the French Depot de la Marine" which translates roughly to: 'I examined the chart of the archipelago presented by Sieur Grognard, a pilote of the department from Toulon, under orders of the Count de Maurepas, and I find it is acceptable for navigation…". Bellin published many charts under his own name and it is unusual to find this type of signed attribution of a chart published by the Depot.The Depot de la Marine was established in 1720 under the French Ministry of the Navy to collect, preserve, and publish nautical charts, sailing directions, and maritime intelligence for the French naval service. Its purpose was both archival and practical: to centralize geographic knowledge gathered from voyages, surveys, and colonial administration, and to convert that information into standardized charts for navigation. Over the eighteenth century the Depot became the principal hydrographic authority of France, issuing engraved sea charts that incorporated data from naval expeditions, colonial outposts, and scientific voyages.

Following the French Revolution, the institution was reorganized and its chart production expanded, particularly during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries as global maritime competition intensified. The Depot de la Marine supervised official surveys, revised earlier charts, and maintained copperplates for continued reissue as coastal knowledge improved. In 1886 it was formally reorganized as the Service hydrographique de la Marine, the predecessor of today’s French hydrographic office. Charts bearing the Depot imprint remain important records of French naval activity, colonial expansion, and the technical development of European hydrography.

CREATOR: Depot de la Marine

PUBLICATION DATE: 1745

GEOGRAPHIC AREA: Greece

BODY OF WATER: Aegean Sea

CONDITION: Very Good. Clean on heavy wove paper with no major issues. Slight evidence of past misfold at left centerfold.

COLORING: None

ENGRAVER:

SIZE: 21 " x 30 "

ITEM PHYSICAL LOCATION: 58

PRICE: $1400

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