Search Results: a chart of the harbour of by des barres j

London, 1781. Engraved chart, the town and border hand-coloured as issued. Minor repaired edge tears. Sheet Size: 22 5/8 x 32 1/2 inches. An important 18th century chart of Louisbourg harbour. Des Barres, of Swiss-Huguenot extraction, studied under the great mathematician Daniel Bernoulli at the University of Basel, before continuing on to the Royal Military College at Woolwich. Upon the outbreak of hostilities with France in 1756, he joined the British Royal American Regiment as a military engineer. He came to the attention of General James Wolfe, who appointed him to join his personal detail. During this period he also worked with the future legendary explorer James Cook on a monumental chart of the St. Lawrence River. From 1762, Des Barres was enlisted to survey the coastlines of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, while his colleague, Samuel Holland charted the New England coast. He also managed to gain access to some surveys of the American South, Cuba and Jamaica. In 1774,… Read More

London: J.F.W. Des Barres in the 'Atlantic Neptune', 1780. Engraved with aquatint, period (oxidized) color. Good condition apart from expert restoration to center fold, upper and lower margins. A very rare and highly important sea chart of Pensacola Harbor from the 'Atlantic Neptune', the finest marine atlas of North America's east coast, produced during the Revolutionary War. This superbly drafted map features the magnificent natural harbor of Pensacola on the Florida panhandle. The town, with its fort and carefully laid out streets is featured in the left-centre of the map. Another settlement "Campbell Town" is located further up the harbour toward where the entrance of the "Scambia" (Escambia) River. The borders of various land grants are demarcated, and the countryside is elegantly detailed with aquatint features, and coloured in a light brown-green wash. The chart precisely captures the features of the coast, showing how the harbor is protected by two sandy bars of land, the outer being Santa… Read More