1749 Henry Ellis / Lattré Map of Efforts to Discover a Northwest Passage

Henry Ellis (August 29, 1721 - January 21, 1806) was an Irish explorer, author, slave trader and governor of the colonies of Georgia and Nova Scotia. He was educated in the law, but in 1746 he would subscribe to, and work for a company, led by Arthur Dobbs, dedicated to the discovery of the Northwest Passage. Ellis served as agent for the company on the voyages it funded between 1746 and 1748, which failed to identify a viable connection between Hudson's Bay and the Pacific. Nevertheless, Ellis' impassioned arguments for the existence of a Northwest Passage - and his published accounts of the failed efforts to find one - would see him inducted into the Royal Society. Doubtless seeking a more reliable source of income, Ellis between 1750 and 1755 became a slave trader, taking active part in the purchase of Africans for sale to buyers in Jamaica. Perhaps his success in the trade led Lord Halifax, President of the Board of Trade, to name Ellis lieutenant governor of Georgia in 1756. He would become royal governor there in 1758, where he would be notable for negotiating a treaty with the Creeks in order to secure the colony's border. Georgia's climate appears to have made an impression on him: his contribution to the 1758 transactions of the Royal Society was an article entitled 'Heat of the Weather in Georgia' and by 1760 he would have to resign his post due to the impact of the heat on his health. Between 1761 and 1763 he was commissioned governor of Nova Scotia, the duties of which position he did not appear to execute. He would later retire to scientific researches in Italy, where he would die in 1806. More by this mapmaker...

Jean Lattré (170x - 178x) was a Paris based bookseller, engraver, globe maker, calligrapher, and map publisher active in the mid to late 18th century. Lattré published a large corpus of maps, globes, and atlases in conjunction with a number of other important French cartographic figures, including Janvier, Zannoni, Bonne and Delamarche. He is also known to have worked with other European cartographers such as William Faden of London and the Italian cartographer Santini. Map piracy and copyright violations were common in 18th century France. Paris court records indicate that Lattré brought charges against several other period map publishers, including fellow Frenchman Desnos and the Italian map engraver Zannoni, both of whom he accused of copying his work. Lattré likes trained his wife Madame Lattré (né Vérard), as an engraver, as a late 18th century trade card promotes the world of 'Lattré et son Epouse.' Lattré's offices and bookshop were located at 20 rue St. Jaques, Paris, France. Later in life he relocated to Bordeaux. Learn More...