Henri Michelot (fl.1700-1730) was a French cartographer and hydrographer of the late 17th and early 18th century, styled 'Hydrographer and Royal Pilot of the King's Galleys.' Virtually nothing is known of his education or life. He was nevertheless credited with several influential cartographic works devoted to the Mediterranean, and appears to have been based in Marseilles, which was the home port of the French Galley Corps between the 1680s and the 1740s. His works exhibit long experience and close association with the Mediterranean coasts and harbors he charted and are prized for both their detail and the baroque, bellicose imagery that decorated them. His output includes charts of the Mediterranean co-authored with Nicolas Therin, and he collaborated with the similarly obscure Laurent Brémond, both on separate charts and the 1718 Ports et Rades de la Mer Méditerranée. Despite the paucity of information on the man, he was sufficiently esteemed that printed works continued to be attributed to him well into the early 19th century. More by this mapmaker...

Laurent Brémond (fl.1700-1730) was a French hydrographer and map printer of the late 17th and early 18th century, styled 'Hydrographer to the King and the town,' the town in question being Marseilles, the port city in which his shop was located. His education and life are obscure. He was credited with several influential cartographic works devoted to the Mediterranean, and was associated with Henri Michelot, hydrographer and Royal navigator for the French Galley Corps. Their works exhibit long experience and understanding of the Mediterranean coasts and harbors they charted. Their charts, particularly the larger, broader-focused ones, featured baroque, bellicose imagery that emphasized French naval power. In addition to several fine, large charts of Corsica and Sardinia, Brémond and Michelot produced the 1718 Ports et Rades de la Mer Méditerranée, which would be reprinted several times. Learn More...

Pieter Starckman (fl. c. 1680 - 1730), a.k.a Peter or Petrus, was a Dutch engraver active in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Starckman was likely born in Amsterdam in March of 1655, the son of Steven Starckman and Atalijntge van Oostijnen. During much of his career he was active in the Hague, but some records suggested that in the early 18th century he held a royal appoint in France as Graveur du Roy en Geograpie, Fortifications et Marines. Starckman engraved for numerous cartographers as well as on his own account, usually signing his work as 'P. Starckman'. He collaborated with the finest mapmakers of his day, including De Fer and De L'Isle. Learn More...