DESCRIPTION: Antique copperplate nautical chart / port plan of the entrance to the harbor at Port-de-Bouc near Martigues, France produced by French hydrographer and galley pilot Henry Michelot and Laurens Bremond in 1730 . Along with many soundings and navigation hazards the features that Michelot deemed important and referenced by name include a "Pigeonnier", the beach "Plage de Fos", a tower "Tour de Bouc", and numerous "Bordigues" or fish weirs.
Michelot describes Bouc harbor in the English translation of his book of sailing directions published in 1715 - "The Mediterranean Pilot". Michelot's self-confidence in his superior knowledge of the region is unmistakable:
"The mouth is very narrow being only 150 fathoms over; on the starboard point as you go in there is a fortress with a square tower in the middle, of white stone which is seen a great way off; it stands at a low point of an island, which is only separated from the main land by a small rivolet, The Dutch and some authors set down the entrance of this port in their sea-mapps to the eastward of this island where the tower of Bouc is; which shows they have never used this coast, no more than the author of the little Flambeau, printed at Harve de Grace."
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. Strong impression.
COLORING: None
ENGRAVER:
SIZE: 9
" x
6 "
ITEM PHYSICAL LOCATION: 4
PRICE: $300
ADD TO CART
|