Depot de la Marine
1762

Antique French harbor chart of Havana, Cuba

Jacques Nicolas Bellin: Carte Hydrographique de la Baye de la Havane avec le Plan de la Ville et de ses Forts pour Joindre a la Carte de l'Isle de Cube

DESCRIPTION: Striking, original harbor chart and plan of the bay, town and forts of Havana, Cuba as they existed before 1762. Bellin identifies forty-five important locations in and around Havana and denotes their location on the plan alphabetically. Created by order of the Duc du Choiseul, French Minister of War.

With three inset plans "Le Fort du Maure" (Morro Castle, or more correctly- Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro), Fort de la Pointe (Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta), and Le Vieux Chateau (Castillo de la Real Fuerza) with 22 pieces of cannon. In 1762, after the Siege of Havana, the British captured all of Havana including the forts. All were returned to Spain a year later under terms of the Treaty of Paris.

This fine antique chart is from Nicolas Bellin, 1762, working for France's Depot des Cartes et Plans de la Marine.

With the circular anchor logo of the Depot de la Marine. Price when issued dix huit (18) Sols. No. 69.The Depot de la Marine was established in 1720 under the French Ministry of the Navy to collect, preserve, and publish nautical charts, sailing directions, and maritime intelligence for the French naval service. Its purpose was both archival and practical: to centralize geographic knowledge gathered from voyages, surveys, and colonial administration, and to convert that information into standardized charts for navigation. Over the eighteenth century the Depot became the principal hydrographic authority of France, issuing engraved sea charts that incorporated data from naval expeditions, colonial outposts, and scientific voyages.

Following the French Revolution, the institution was reorganized and its chart production expanded, particularly during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries as global maritime competition intensified. The Depot de la Marine supervised official surveys, revised earlier charts, and maintained copperplates for continued reissue as coastal knowledge improved. In 1886 it was formally reorganized as the Service hydrographique de la Marine, the predecessor of today’s French hydrographic office. Charts bearing the Depot imprint remain important records of French naval activity, colonial expansion, and the technical development of European hydrography.

CREATOR: Depot de la Marine

PUBLICATION DATE: 1762

GEOGRAPHIC AREA: Cuba

BODY OF WATER: Gulf of Mexico

CONDITION: Good. Strong impression and attractive hand-coloring. Reinforcement to top margin at right, not impacting the image. Ample margins. On laid paper. No folds evident.

COLORING: None

ENGRAVER:

SIZE: 22 " x 16 "

ITEM PHYSICAL LOCATION: 51

PRICE: $1350

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