A Cornerstone Rarity Relating to the Mississippi and Australia
With Very Rare Proof State of the First Printed Map of the Upper Mississippi
And an Extra Plate (Thevenot's Spirit Level)
A major rarity of 17th-century frontier exploration in North America. Thevenot's book includes the first publication of Father Marquette's 1673 discovery of the Mississippi River, including a remarkable map of the Upper Mississippi - often heralded as the first map of the Mississippi River. The present example of the book, with title page dated 1682, includes all the maps and plates of the 1681 first issue. Indeed, the primary map, Carte de la Decouverte Faite l'an 1663 dans l'Amerique Septentrionale, is here present in an extremely rare proof state - with the year of the Mississippi explorations incorrectly noted as 1663 (most examples of this map are of the third state with the year corrected to 1673, see below for details). Also notable in the present example is the presence of two impressions of the engraved plate illustrating Thevenot's spirit level.
This important book includes the first publication of Father Marquette's account, in company with Joliet in 1673, of the upper Mississippi River, with explorations as far as the Arkansas River. The result of this expedition paved the way for French dominance in the Mississippi Valley during the following century. The map which accompanies this account is a major cartographic landmark for the exploration of the interior of North America: it is the first printed map to bear the name Michigan, it shows the lake of that name, and maps the Mississippi River from its headwaters to the sea. A figure representing an Indian deity appears near the center of the map, Manitou, here somewhat enigmatically identified as Manit8.
The text of the narrative recording the discovery of the Mississippi River is remarkable for blending careful description and epic discovery in matter-of-fact language that borders on understatement. Here follows a translated extract:
Here we are, then, on this renowned River, all of whose peculiar features I have endeavored to note carefully. The Missisipi River takes its rise in various lakes in the country of the Northern nations. It is narrow at the place where Miskous [the Wisconsin] empties; its Current, which flows southward, is slow and gentle. To the right is a large chain of very high Mountains, and to the left are beautiful lands; in various Places, the Stream is divided by Islands... sailing quietly in clear and calm Water, we heard the noise of a rapid, into which we were about to run. I have seen nothing more dreadful. An accumulation of large and entire trees, branches, and floating islands, was issuing from the Mouth of the river Pekistanoui, with such impetuosity that we could not without great danger risk passing through it... There are many Villages of savages along this river, and I hope by its means to discover the vermillion or California sea... Judging from the Direction of the course of the Missisipi, if it Continue the same way, we think that it discharges into the Mexican Gulf.
The remainder of the book's content greatly enhances its allure. The Tasman map, a landmark of Australian cartography, present here in its fourth state, is based on that explorer's 1644 voyage. The map is the first to show the Australian coastline in anything approaching accurate detail. According to Davidson: "In any state the map is a great rarity. It is one of the earliest charts devoted entirely to Australia and is the first French map of Australia."
There is also a brief account of polar explorations undertaken by the Dutch in 1680, with an accompanying folding woodcut map which is often lacking but is here present, illustrating an equipolar projection. The next textual item of note is an account of an overland trip from Russia to China in 1653. The book also contains a short discourse on navigation. Lastly there is the natural history section based mostly on the work of Jan Swammerdam, chiefly concerned with the anatomy of the mayfly, with plates based on early microscopic examinations and dissections by this important 17th-century anatomist and friend of Thevenot.
Bibiographical Discussion
The book was first issued with a title page dated 1681. The 1682 issue is very little changed from the 1681 edition, aside from the possible variant positioning of some of the plates. European Americana describes the present 1682 edition as simply another issue of the first. Later editions issued in 1687 and 1689 were actually made from unsold sheets of the 1682 issue, with cancel imprints pasted over the original. Thevenot's book is composed of several parts - as many as eight separately paginated sections, each with a separate set of signature marks. This has caused some catalogers to describe the book as bibliographically complex, particularly in terms of the natural history sections devoted to the discoveries of Dutch scientist Jan Swammerdam, appended toward the end of the volume, and which are sometimes not all present. Our example is lacking only the final text section, comprising 16 pages relating to Swammerdam's collection or cabinet, chiefly of interest to entomologists. The Swammerdam cabinet material is not original to Thevenot's work, being a translation from a 1679 publication in Latin: Catalogus musei instructissimi. Interestingly, this section is not even mentioned on the summary contents page (printed on the verso the title leaf), which starts straightaway with the discoveries of the Jesuit priest Marquette.
A detailed collation of Thevenot's book can be found in the Church catalogue, and Greenly provides supporting details on this matter.
Summary of the Contents and Maps:
Here follows a detailed listing of the contents of the example in hand:
- Avis. Pages 1-11.
- Relations de ce Recueil, imprimees jusques a cette heure. Pages 12-16.
- Decouverte de Quelques Pays et Nations de L'Amerique Septentrionale. Pages 1-43.
- Voyage d'un Ambassadeur que le Tzaar de Moscovie Envoya par Terre a la Chine l'Annee 1653. Pages 1-18.
- Explication des Lettres de la Figure Suivante [explanation of Thevenot spirit level]. [2] pages, with engraved plate attached to verso of leaf.
- Discours sur l'Art de la Navigation, avec quelques Problemes qui peuvent suppleer en partie ce qui manque a un Art si necessaire. Pages 1-32.
- Les Histoires Naturelles de l'Ephemere et du Cancellus ou Bernard l'Hermite. Descrite & representees par Figures par Mr. Swammerdam... Tirees avec les Voyages precedens du Recuiel... [4] pages. [Secondary title page and errata leaf, not present in the Church copy]
- Histoire Naturelle de l'Ephemere. Pages 1-20
- 14 numbered pages containing 5 engravings, in the text, on pages 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7. Illustrating the natural history section. Page 14 is blank.
- Histoire Naturelle du Cancellus, ou Bernard l'Hermite. Pages 1-8. With 5 copperplate engravings, in the text, on pages 1, 3, 5, 6, and 7.
The Maps:
- Terre Australes Decouuerte l'an 1644. Hollandia Nova. Folding copperplate engraved map of Abel Tasman's discoveries, with the track and compass. 15 1/16 x 20 13/16 inches. State 4.
- Carte de la Deouverte faite l'an 1663 [sic] dans l'Amerique Septentrionale. Liebaux sculp. Folding copperplate engraved map of the Mississippi River. 6 5/16 x 15 5/8 inches. Closely trimmed lower margin, slightly shaving the printed neatline along the bottom. State 2.
- Explication de la Carte de la Decouverte de la Terre d'Ielmer, au de-la de la Nouvelle Zemble, & des routes pour passer par le Nort au Japon, a la Chine & aux Indes Orientales. Folding woodcut map of an equipolar projection. With 18 lines of descriptive text. 7 5/8 x 7 5/16 inches on sheet, 12 5/8 x 8 inches.
Proof State of The Map of the Mississippi River
According to Philip Burden there are three states of the Mississippi River map: the first two being rare proof states only known in a couple of examples. Burden notes
The map itself is found in three state, the first two almost certainly proof, the second containing an erroneous date. Both of these survive in sole examples.
- State 1: Lacking Title (one known example - Archive de la Marine, Paris)
- State 2: Dated 1663 (one known example - National Archives of Canada)
- State 3: Date corrected to 1673
This example conforms to Burden's state 2, with the title, engraver's name, and dated 1663:
Rarity
In sum, one of the most important books of early North American exploration, with a key account and map of discovery of the Mississippi Valley, here with the map in an extraordinarily rare proof state.