Rare French edition of Captain Jonathan Carver’s important map of Quebec

Description

This elegant and detailed map of the Province of Quebec was published by Georges-Louis le Rouge in 1777. It is based on a map originally published by Robert Sayer and John Bennett in 1776, informed by surveying efforts of Captain Jonathan Carver as well as earlier French surveys. The Le Rouge version features a different cartouche and simplified inset frames as well as place names in French.

The map depicts Quebec and the St. Lawrence River, stretching from the eastern bank of Lake Huron to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, taking in parts of then-Labrador and Nova Scotia (Nouvelle Ecosse) as well as New York and New England (Nouvelle Angleterre). The latter two show the northernmost parts of present-day New York State, Vermont, and New Hampshire, and most of Maine, respectively.

The originally British need for the map was triggered by the Treaty of Paris (1763), marking the end of the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), including the French and Indian War (1754-1763), as well as by King George III's following Royal Proclamation of October 7, 1763, as also referred to in the map’s title.

At the centre of the French and Indian War were disputes over trade and territorial claims in North America, between the colonial powers of Great Britain and France, fought about together with their respective Native American allies. In this war, Carver served as a British colonial officer. While the French and Indian War was only a partial contributor to the global Seven Years’ War, the formal outcome of the latter, as reflected in the Treaty of Paris (1763), redefined the borders in North America. One of the key parts of this was France ceding almost all its territorial claims and possessions in North America (the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon being, to this day, the only small exception), with the vast majority passing to Great Britain.

The Royal Proclamation of October 7, 1763, defined borders between established colonies and First Nations’ territories to the west, with the aims of, first, preventing colonists from encroaching on the latter lands and, second, establishing a mechanism for the formal acquisition of these lands by the Crown.

For the British, these developments necessitated mapping of the region. As Goss states, with reference to Sayer & Bennett’s edition:

“The chief purpose of this map was to show the first boundaries of the new English province of Québec. When England came into the possession of French Canada by the Treaty of Paris of 1763, it was necessary to provide government and to establish defined boundaries for the new province.”

The map is exceptionally rich in detail. It includes the following notable features:

• Relief is depicted pictorially.
• Countless rivers, lakes, and settlements are shown and named, where applicable.
• Roads and administrative divisions are outlined.
• Numerous Native North American peoples are named throughout, including Abenaki (Abenaquis), Algonquin (Alconquins), Naskapi (Uneskapis), Nipissing, and Timiskaming (Temiscaming), to name but a few.

Four detailed insets show a Montreal regional map (Isle Montreal), street plans of Montreal (Plan de Montreal ou Villemarie) and Quebec City (Plan de Quebec), and a map of a section of the course of the St. Lawrence River (Fleuve St. Laurent Depuis la Valterie a Quebec). The inset street plans feature legends, with places of interest identified. Three of the insets contain a basic compass rose, while two hold a distance scale.

The map uses London as the prime meridian.

A decorative title cartouche showing what is possibly a section the St. Lawrence Valley adorns the map at bottom right.

It is possible that the map was first issued separately in 1777, before being included in Le Rouge’s 1778 Atlas amériquain septentrional (which includes the Pilote américain septentrional), a rare atlas in three volumes, containing dozens of sea charts. It was prepared for the French Navy, to aid its efforts in support of the Americans during the American Revolutionary War, which France had just formally entered.

A beautiful example of this scarce and significant early map of “La Belle Province”.

Publication

Atlas amériquain septentrional [1778]

Rarity

The map appears seldomly on the market. We are able to trace only five sales by dealers and auction houses over the last 40 years.

Condition

Very good.

A sharp impression on strong, watermarked paper, issued folding. Early colouring in outline. A few faint spots at lower centre.

Reference

Goss, J. (1990). The Mapping of North America, pp. 134-135, map 61 [1776 original issue]. The Wellfleet Press.

Tooley, R. V. (1980). The Mapping of America, p. 97, map 73a [1776 original issue]. The Holland Press.

Item #: 02946

US $1,600.00

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