DESCRIPTION: Antique nautical chart of the Bay of Marseilles, France. Drawn by Henri Michelot, pilot of the royal galley for Louis XIV and XV. This large antique sea chart of the Bay of Marseilles would have been useful to coastal navigators such as those with the French Corps de Galeres. Extending from Cap Couronne past Cap Croisete to Morgiou the chart notes local water sources (galleys could only carry enough water for about two weeks), anchorages, and denotes a near-shore passage for the galleys near Cap Croisete: "Passage ordinaire des Galeres". The city of Marseille is shown surrounded by protective walls on three sides.
The authors' intimate knowledge of the area is confirmed by their location of several "madragues" around the bay (large anchored fish ponds or seines) that would have posed a threat to any fleet of coastal vessels operating in the area.
This chart is of special interest as Marseille the home bases for the galleys ( galère / galères ) of Louis XIV and XV as well as the home port for Michelot and Bremond. In the year this chart was published, 1720, the city of Marseille experienced an outbreak of "la peste", bubonic plague, that killed an estimated 40% of its population. The plague, spread from an arriving merchant ship, was one of the last great outbreaks in Western Europe. Perhaps it is coincidence but the location of both the Infirmerie Vieux and the Infirmerie Vielle in Marseille are indicated.
With a large beautifully engraved title cartouche by Starckman featuring Neptune with two overflowing horns-of-plenty.
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: 1720
GEOGRAPHIC AREA: France
BODY OF WATER: Mediterranean
CONDITION: Very Good
Very nice condition for its age with one or two tiny brown spots. Top has been professionally re-margined outside the neat line. Bright strong paper.
COLORING: None.
ENGRAVER: P. Starckman
SIZE: 27
" x
19 "
ITEM PHYSICAL LOCATION: 58
PRICE: $1875
ADD TO CART
|