| Summary: | 18th century Didier Robert de Vaugondy (1723-1786) was Royal Geographer and Censor in France (Tooley, 541). The Robert de Vaugondy family was descended from the Nicolas Sanson family and had much of his map plates. The family combined his plates with those of Hubert Jaillot’s plates after his death in 1712. Combining the map plates and thoroughly revising the earlier engravings, the family created the “Atlas Universal” (1750-1757) (Moreland and Bannister, 136). Didier’s work includes: “Mexico” (1749), “Maps in Atlas Universal” (1750-1757), “Nouvel Atlas portative” (1784), and “America Septentrionale” (1761). His atlases were later reissued by Delamarche (Tooley, 541). This particular map was first published in a 1780 edition of Didier Robert de Vaugondy’s “Encyclopedie,” earning the mark of “authority and currency” (Portinaro and Knirsch, 284; Philipps, 627, no. 1195). Portinaro and Knirsch note that the map lacks information that was accurate for its publication date as it does not reflect the explorations of Alaska by Captain Cook done between 1776 and 1779. Instead, the map is merely a 1772 revision of an earlier map from 1764, illustrating Alaska’s peninsula as a “chain” of islands (284). The map also shows Quivira along the west coast of North south of Cape Mendocino. Wheat notes that the “R. de Quivira” is shown as flowing into the “R. de los Apostolos” (Wheat, 221, entry 158). Source(s): Moreland, Carl and David Bannister. “Antique Maps: A Collector’s Handbook.” New York: Longman Group, Ltd., 1983. Phillips, Philip Lee. “List of Geographical Atlases.” Vol.1 Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1909. Portinaro, Pierluigi and Franco Knirsch. “The Cartography of North America 1500-1800.” New York: Facts on File, Inc., 1987. Tooley, Ronald Vere. “Tooley’s Dictionary of Mapmakers.” Hertfordshire: Map Collector Publications Limited, 1979. Wheat, Carl I. “Mapping the Transmississippi West.” Volume 1. San Francisco: Institute of Historical Cartography, 1957. Copper engraving handcolored with watercolor. Outline color. Relief shown pictorially. Printed at top of map in Arctic Circle: ”Carte des parties nord et ouest de l’Amérique dressée d’apres les relations les plus authentiques par M… en 1764. Nouvelle edition réduite par M. de Vaugondy en 1772.” Printed above top border in center: ”Septentrion.” Printed above upper right border: ”Suppl. 1re Carte.” Printed in lower left corner: ”*Ville des Tahuglauks selon la relation du Baron de la Hontan et qui peut avoir été prise par quelques Géographes moderns pour Quivira, á laquelle ils donnent la meme position sur la prétendue Mer de Ouest.” Printed in the center of the left border: ”Occident.” Printed beneath bottom border: ”Midi.” Printed in the center of the right border: ”Orient.” Printed in northwest are of North America along an unlabeled river: ”Ici paroit etre la terme du voyage de Moncacht-Apé.” Depicts the modern-day Bering Strait between Russia and North America as “Détroit d’Anian.” Shows northwestern area of modern-day United States as “Grand Quivira” and the northwestern region of Canda as “Anian” and “Bergi Regio.” Illustrates Louisianna as “Louisiane” stretching from Appalachian to the Rocky Mountains, rather than from the Mississippi River. Depicts the River of the West from a large lake titled “L. des Tahuglauks” to the Pacific Ocean in the northwest region as “Riviere coulante á l’Ouwest. Presents areas in which some Native American tribes reside including the Sioux, the Assiniboine, the Navajo, and the Apaches. Of note, Greenland is connected to North America over Baffin’s Bay. Some of the British colonies are shown including Georgia, Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Depicts a large lake in the center of northern North America named “Lac Michinipi ou de la grande Ean.” Scale: c.a. 1:25,000,000.
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