DESCRIPTION: SOLD
Antique rare 'brown-back' navigation chart issued by the French Depot de la Marine in 1818. Coverage extends from Sumatra in the far west to the Antilles and Gulf of Mexico. Includes: Vietnam, Korea, Philippines, Japan, Australia (Nouvelle Hollande), New Zealand, the "Sandwich Islands" [Hawaii (Owhywi) , Mowi, Oahu (Woahua)...], Easter Island (Isle de Paques), Port St Francois (San Francisco), California and most of the Pacific Islands.
With the circular stamp of the Depot General de la Marine at bottom left. Chart is covered with brown linen; probably contemporary to its issue based on the wear pattern. No. 420. Price 2 Francs.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.
PUBLICATION DATE: 1818
GEOGRAPHIC AREA: World
BODY OF WATER: Pacific Ocean
CONDITION: Good.
Some browning and finger marks but overall very nice condition. Only one small repaired tear south of Australia (no loss) that does not detract from the image.
COLORING: None
ENGRAVER:
SIZE: 35
" x
24 "
ITEM PHYSICAL LOCATION: 0
PRICE: $
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