DESCRIPTION: Interesting antique chart / plan of the bay, harbor and walled city of Villefranche-sur-Mer, France in the Cote d'Azur region of the French Riviera. Numerous soundings and anchorages are noted in the bay which is one of the deepest natural harbors in the Mediterranean. Other depicted features include the Ruines du Chateau de Nice, the old harbor "la Darce", Fort Mont Alban, Tour de Boze, Pointe de Mala Langue (now Cap Ferrat) , Ruines de Fort St. Souspir, and the villages of St. Michel and Heze (Èze).
This antique nautical plan was produced ca. 1730 by French hydrographer and pilot of the French royal galley "La Reale" Henry Michelot. The port plan was one of 37 original plans published in Marseilles by Michelot and Laurens Bremond in a volume titled "Recueil de Plusieurs Plans de Ports et Rades de la Mer Mediterranée." Later in the 18th century the plans were copied and reprinted by Roux, Allezard, Kitchin and others.
Henry Michelot and Laurens Bremond
Henri Michelot was an early 18th century French cartographer with a close connection to the sea. Michelot, self-described Hydrographer and Pilot of the Galere Royale or Royal Galley, was then part of a corps of approximately 40 galleys (galeres) or oared sailing vessels stationed in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic coast. In the Mediterranean, galleys were based primarily at the arsenal in Marseilles, France. Galleys were typically rigged with the triangular Mediterranean "Lateen" sail(s).
Bookseller and royal hydrographer Laurent Bremond "Hydrographe du Roi et de la Ville" sold charts and maritime books from his establishment in Marseille located near the port at the corner of Reboul street ( "au Coin de Reboul").
The output of Michelot and Bremond, from approximately 1715 through 1730 consisted of an atlas of 16 small-scale charts, a port book of 37 large-scale charts, and a coast pilot of the Mediterranean: "Portulan de la Mer Mediterranee, ou Guide des Pilotes Cotiers." Their work (the "Portulan" was published in several languages at least until 1805) and was a primary source of navigational information about the Mediterranean for years. The charts of Michelot and Bremond were often copied by others such as Kitchin and Roux.
PUBLICATION DATE: 1730
GEOGRAPHIC AREA: France
BODY OF WATER: Mediterranean
CONDITION: Very good.
Paper only very slightly tanned but strong with good platemark. Some staining in bottom margin.
COLORING: Modern detailed color on the compass rose.
ENGRAVER:
SIZE: 9
" x
6 "
ITEM PHYSICAL LOCATION: 4
PRICE: $375
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