Original antique regional map by Jaques-Nicolas Bellin. From ‘Histoire Generale des Voyages, ou Nouvelle Collection de Toute les Relations de Voyages par Mer et par Terre’, by J. Vander der Schley, published by Pierre de Hondt, The Hague in 1746.
A fine map of the islands of Japan, including Korea, Taiwan and the coast of China till Macao.Embellished with fine baroque decorations. Bellin influenced other cartographers with his erroneous portrayals of Japan. Many details are incorrect. Later cartographers would correct these errors.
Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1703-1772), a French geographer, was among the most important mapmakers of the eighteenth century. In 1721, at the age of 18, he was appointed hydrographer of the Ministry of the Navy following the French hydrographic office's creation and the Dépot of charts and plans of the Navy. Appointed hydrographic engineer in August 1741. Member of the Academy of the Navy and the Royal Society of London.
Over the course of a 50-year career, he drew the maps of several major works of his time such as Histoire et description générale de la Nouvelle-France de Charlevoix (1744); Histoire générale des voyages de l'Abbé Prévost (published between 1746 and 1759) ); Neptune François (1753), Hydrographie Françoise (1756-1765), and Petit Atlas Français (1763) - reissued as Petit Atlas Maritime (1765). He is the most copied cartographer of the 18th century.
