1795 Hérisson Map of North America and South America

This is a rare, elegant, and detailed map of America by Eustache Hérisson, in its 1795 first edition. In addition to the Western Hemisphere, Hérisson's work focuses on the three voyages of Captain James Cook - in particular, presenting the key results of his third and final journey to Hawaii, and his efforts to penetrate the Bering Straits. Cook's tracks through the Pacific and the Atlantic both are included. His journey through the South Pacific, its revelations of New Zealand, and the cipher presented by the as-yet undetected Antarctica are also made evident.

Scope of the Map

The map extends from 80º north to 70º south, thus covering from the Arctic beyond Baffin's Bay to just south of Tierra del Fuego. To the east, much distorted by the projection, are the Atlantic coastlines of Africa and Europe. The western limits include New Zealand to the south, the Marshall Islands due west, and in the extreme north the Asian coastline abutting the Bering Strait and the Aleutian Islands. Inset maps in the upper and lower right detail the islands of Santo Domingo or Hispaniola, and Martinique, respectively. Beside the Martinique detail, a key describes the dotted-line scheme differentiating the tracks for Cook's three voyages. An elaborate set of scales in the lower left offers the measure for distances in ten standards of miles and leagues.

A Vacant Northwest

In addition to Cook's sea voyages, Samuel Hearne's 1772 Canadian overland journey from Hudson's Bay to the Arctic mouth of the Coppermine River is marked; while this expedition proved the nonexistence of a northwest passage connected to Hudson's Bay, this work nevertheless retains the imaginary channel (alleged to exist in 1768 by Alexander Cluny) which had spurred the Hearne expedition in the first place.

The western expanse of North America - from New Mexico right up to the arctic Mer Glaciale, and from the Mississippi to the Pacific - is presented as a vacant expanse. At the rim of this open space are marked suspected water passages, as well as the names of known Native American tribes along its frontiers.

An Extremely General Map of the United States

Here printed with a dotted line border, and with red outline coloring, is the newly-minted United States; its borders extend west to the Mississippi - but well north of the Saint Lawrence River, encompassing a large part of British Canada. In spite of the Mississippi border, the French place name Louisiane extends well east, encroaching on the Appalachian Mountains.

Beyond North America

Beyond the Arctic and North America, the map offers additional items of interest. South America is shown in reasonable detail: Lake Parima, mythical site of El Dorado from the 15th century, is here correctly associated with Lake Amuku, in Guyana. Lake Xarayes, another speculative El Dorado, remains at the northern terminus of the Paraguay River.

Publication History and Census

Hérisson first published this map in 1795, in conjunction with his mentor Rigobert Bonne. It was printed in Paris by Chez Basset. The map was available as a separate issue, as well as in a bound 'atlas' of five maps sold by Desnos. We are aware of amended editions of 1806, 1817 and 1819; a later, expanded 1833 edition printed from a much larger plate. We see four examples of the present 1795 edition listed separately: Johan Christian Library in Senckenberg, the Sachsische Landesbibliothek, the Paris Museum of Natural History, and the University of Michigan. One example of the 1795 atlas is held by the National Library of Australia. The map is rare on the market.