DESCRIPTION: Antique chart from 1791 of the Azores Islands, off the coast of Portugal. This chart "Carte réduite des Isles Açores" is a 1791 French sea chart based on the earlier observations of Tofino de San Miguel, of the Spanish Admiralty. Contains numerous elevation profile views of the Azores coastline as seen from sea. Coverage inccludes the islands of Corvo, Flores, Graciosa ("Gracieuse"), Terceira, São Jorge, Pico, Faial, São Miguel, and Santa Maria.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.
PUBLICATION DATE: 1791
GEOGRAPHIC AREA: Portugal
BODY OF WATER: Atlantic Ocean
CONDITION: Very good.
Clean on strong paper ith ample margins for framing.
COLORING: None
ENGRAVER:
SIZE: 34
" x
22 "
ITEM PHYSICAL LOCATION: 54
PRICE: $750
ADD TO CART
|