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1773 Bellin Map of the Cape of Good Hope, Cape town, South Africa
GoedeHoop2-bellin-1773$112.50
Title
Carte de la Baye de la Table et Rade du Cap de Bonne Experance. Kaart der Tavelbaai en Ree van Kaap de Goede Hoop.
1773 (undated) 9.5 x 7 in (24.13 x 17.78 cm) 1 : 192800
1773 (undated) 9.5 x 7 in (24.13 x 17.78 cm) 1 : 192800
Description
This map is a c.1773 map of the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Town, South Africa. Attributed to French cartographer Jacques-Nicholas Bellin, this map was issued for the Dutch edition of Provost's Histoire des Voyages. Beautifully rendered mountains and villages show the area in considerable detail. Shows the 'Village of the Hottentots,' Blue Mountain, Cow Mountain, Table Mountain, the City of Cape Town itself, Tigerbergen, and many other features. Some oceanic depths are indicated. Of interest is also the Isle of Robben, located centrally on the map. Long a place of exile and punishment, this island prison had a reputation for brutality and cruelty. Today a museum honors the site of so much suffering. The Dutch edition of this map is coveted as it was printed on heavier stock and to superior standards compared to most other editions. The actual printing of this edition differs from other editions in the addition of a Dutch title at the bottom of the map and in the addition of Dutch place names. The map was engraved by Schley.
CartographerS
Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1703 - March 21, 1772) was one of the most important cartographers of the 18th century. With a career spanning some 50 years, Bellin is best understood as geographe de cabinet and transitional mapmaker spanning the gap between 18th and early-19th century cartographic styles. His long career as Hydrographer and Ingénieur Hydrographe at the French Dépôt des cartes et plans de la Marine resulted in hundreds of high quality nautical charts of practically everywhere in the world. A true child of the Enlightenment Era, Bellin's work focuses on function and accuracy tending in the process to be less decorative than the earlier 17th and 18th century cartographic work. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Bellin was always careful to cite his references and his scholarly corpus consists of over 1400 articles on geography prepared for Diderot's Encyclopedie. Bellin, despite his extraordinary success, may not have enjoyed his work, which is described as "long, unpleasant, and hard." In addition to numerous maps and charts published during his lifetime, many of Bellin's maps were updated (or not) and published posthumously. He was succeeded as Ingénieur Hydrographe by his student, also a prolific and influential cartographer, Rigobert Bonne. More by this mapmaker...
Jacob Van der Schley (1715 - 1779) was a prominent Amsterdam engraver and draftsman based out of Amsterdam. Schley apprenticed under portrait engraver Bernard Picart, whose style he imitated. He is said to have completed several of Picart's portraits following his master's death. While Schley is primarily known for his work as a portraitist and illustrator, he also has a considerable cartographic corpus. He is known to have worked with Bellin, Hondt, and Provost, among others. Learn More...
Source
Prévost, A., Histoire Générale des Voyages, ou Nouvelle Collection de Toutes les Relations de Voyages par Mer et par Terre..., (Amsterdam: Pierre de Hondt ) 1746 - 1759.
Prévost's Histoire Générale des Voyages is a 15-volume compendium of travel literature initiated by Antoine François Prévost (Provost; 1697 - 1763) in 1746, intended as a universal history of exploration and geography. The initial publication, compiled from 1746 to 1759, spans 15 volumes and draws from a vast array of sources - travelers, explorers, missionaries, merchants, and diplomats - to present detailed narratives of significant global journeys. The work was initially published in Paris by Didot and offers ethnographic, political, religious, and natural observations about the peoples, cultures, flora, fauna, and geography. It is an ambitious attempt to organize knowledge about the world's diversity according to Enlightenment values, reflecting both scientific curiosity and imperial ideology. It functioned as both an informative reference and a literary work, influencing how European audiences understood and imagined distant lands. It proved extremely successful, and both reissues other publishers and pirate editions emerged, most notably Pierre de Hondt's 1747 Dutch edition and Jean-Franćois de la Harpe's 1780 abridged version. In addition to reissues of the original work, between 1768 and 1801, additional expanded volumes emerged, adding new voyages and histories. We have seen some sets with as many as 80 volumes. Over time, the Histoire générale des voyages became one of the most comprehensive and widely read travel collections of the 18th century, notable for blending factual reporting with the period's characteristic intellectual ambition.
Condition
Very good. Original platemark visible. Blank on verso.
References
Tooley, R.V., Map Collectors Circle, 6, 22.