1778 Bellin Nautical Chart or Map of the World

An attractive first edition first example of state JN Bellin's 1778 nautical chart of the world. Presents the entire world on a Mercator projection based on a Paris meridian (L'Isle de Fer). Notably this is the first state of this important map, exhibiting a pre-Cook geography throughout, but most specifically in the Pacific and along the northwest coast of America. North America to the west of the Mississippi is vaguely rendered according to 16th century expeditions into the region by Coronado, La Salle, De Soto, and others. Bellin Identifies the semi-mythical civilisations of Quivira and Teguayo, both associated with legends of the Seven Cities of Gold, in what is modern day Utah, California, and Nevada. Along the western coast the strait discovered by Martin Aguilar is noted. Further north still the River of the West (Fl. de l'Ouest) extends from the west coast to the Lake of the Woods (Lac de Bois) and thence via additional waterways to the Great Lakes and the Atlantic. The River of the West appeared in many 18th century maps of the Americas and is reflective of French hopes for a water route from their colonies in Canada and Louisiana to the Pacific. Still further north the coastline becomes extremely vague in places vanishing altogether. The Aleutians are vaguely rendered according to various sightings by Vitus Jonassen Bering and Aleksei Chirikov in the 1740s and identified as the "Archipelago de Nord". In the Pacific, various Polynesian groups are noted Iceland though many are slightly misplaced or Significantly. The Solomon Islands are vastly oversized referencing the early 17th claims of Quiros. The other lands discovered and erroneously mapped by Quiros in 1606 and Davis in 1686 during their search of the great southern continent are so noted. Hawaii, as yet undiscovered, is absent. New Zealand is rendered twice though is accurate in its shape and position. Australia, here labelled "Nouvelle Holland", has part of its southern coastline and ghosted in Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) is attached to the mainland. The southern coast of New Guinea is similarly ghosted in, suggesting its unexplored state. It is of interest that there is a common misconception regarding this map suggests that the first edition was dated 1748th There are editions printed with a date of 1748, but these are actually later editions. The 1748 date is a printing error in which "8" and "4" are transposed, the actual date of publication being 1784th The first edition of this map is the example shown here in 1778. http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:1778_Bellin_Nautical_Chart_or_Map_of_the_World_-_Geographicus_-_World-bellin-1778.jpg