DESCRIPTION: This authentic antique early eighteenth century portolan-style nautical chart depicts the western Mediterranean Sea, with coverage centered on the southern coasts of France and Spain. The rare chart was produced by Henri Michelot and Laurent Bremond and extends along the Mediterranean littoral of Europe and North Africa (Barbarie) from the Strait of Gibraltar and Ceuta in the west to Cap Palle in the east, passing coastal points including Marbella, Malaga, Almeria, and Cartagena. Numerous coastal guard towers are shown, reflecting their importance during a period marked by frequent raiding from the Barbary Coast. The chart also includes two large inset plans, one of Gibraltar and the other of the Bay of Tangier (Tanger).
Several distinctive features set this chart apart from other Michelot and Bremond nautical charts. Most notable is a decorative vignette showing a navigator, possibly Michelot himself, seated on bales of merchandise bearing initials and symbols associated with the authors and engraver, and surrounded by maritime objects and navigational instruments including a chart, compass, and cross-staff. Also present is an unusual secondary distance scale placed inside the neat line at the lower left. Such internal scales are more commonly found on small-scale charts and were likely intended to allow navigators to set divider points without repeatedly pricking and damaging the principal distance scale. RareCharts
Henry Michelot and Laurens Bremond
Henri Michelot was an early eighteenth century French cartographer with a close connection to the sea. He described himself as Hydrographer and Pilot of the Galere Royale (Royal Galley), and was associated with a corps of approximately forty galleys (galeres), oared sailing vessels operating in the Mediterranean and along the Atlantic coast. In the Mediterranean, these galleys were based primarily at the naval arsenal in Marseilles, France. They were typically rigged with triangular Mediterranean lateen sails, a configuration well suited to coastal navigation and variable winds.
Bookseller and royal hydrographer Laurent Bremond, styled “Hydrographe du Roi et de la Ville,” sold charts and maritime books from his establishment in Marseille, located near the port at the corner of Reboul Street (“au Coin de Reboul”). Bremond played a key role in the commercial distribution of nautical knowledge, supplying working mariners as well as official and institutional clients.
The collaborative output of Michelot and Bremond, produced roughly between 1715 and 1730, included an atlas of sixteen small-scale charts, a port book containing thirty-seven large-scale charts, and a Mediterranean coast pilot titled Portulan de la Mer Mediterranee, ou Guide des Pilotes Cotiers. Issued in multiple languages and published in editions extending at least to 1805, this body of work became a primary source of navigational information for the Mediterranean for many decades. The charts of Michelot and Bremond were highly influential and were frequently copied by later chartmakers, including Kitchin and Roux.
PUBLICATION DATE: 1723
GEOGRAPHIC AREA: Spain
BODY OF WATER: Mediterranean, Bay of Gibraltar, Bay of Tangiers
CONDITION: Very good.
Strong paper, no holes or tears. Clean and bright. Professionally remargined outside the neat line at top. Printer's smudges to extreme right center.
COLORING: None
ENGRAVER: P. Starck-man
SIZE: 27
" x
19 "
ITEM PHYSICAL LOCATION: 7940
PRICE: $2850
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