Sign In

Password

- Or use -

Forgot Password Create Account

Checkout

Stock# 108367

Download Small Image

Map Maker

Jacques Nicolas Bellin

Title

(Pula, Croatia) Plan du Port de Pola dans l'Istrie.

Publication Place / Date

Paris / 1764

Image Dimensions

6.5 x 9 inches

Color

Hand Colored

Condition

Stock# 108367

$195.00

Add to Cart

Sell Us a Map

Add to Wishlist

Email a Friend

Buy Hi-Res Download

Map Maker

Authenticity Guarantee

Map Maker

Fast, Global Shipping

Description

This 1764 engraving, produced by Jacques-Nicolas Bellin for Le Petit Atlas Maritime, focuses on the strategic port of Pula (Pola) on the Istrian Peninsula. The map provides detailed soundings, indicating depths in fathoms, and outlines key geographic features essential for navigation. Notable points include Cap Brancorse, Tour de Roland, and the Rocher des Oliviers, along with the carefully delineated Ville de Pola and its fortifications.

The use of hand-coloring enhances the geographic features, while relief is indicated with hatching to suggest the terrain. Bellin’s work from this period is recognized for its accuracy and utility, offering both a navigational tool and a representation of the region’s coastal landscape. The inclusion of this map in Le Petit Atlas Maritime reflects the broader European interest in maritime exploration and cartography during the mid-18th century.

Condition Description

Original hand-color. Engraving on 18th-century laid paper. Minor dampstain in the lower right corner.

Jacques Nicolas Bellin Biography

Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1703-1772) was among the most important mapmakers of the eighteenth century. In 1721, at only the age of 18, he was appointed Hydrographer to the French Navy. In August 1741, he became the first Ingénieur de la Marine of the Dépôt des cartes et plans de la Marine (the French Hydrographic Office) and was named Official Hydrographer of the French King.

During his term as Official Hydrographer, the Dépôt was the one of the most active centers for the production of sea charts and maps in Europe. Their output included a folio-format sea atlas of France, the Neptune Francois. He also produced a number of sea atlases of the world, including the Atlas Maritime and the Hydrographie Francaise. These gained fame and distinction all over Europe and were republished throughout the eighteenth and even in the nineteenth century.

Bellin also produced smaller format maps such as the 1764 Petit Atlas Maritime, containing 580 finely-detailed charts. He also contributed a number of maps for the 15-volume Histoire Generale des Voyages of Antoine François Prévost.

Bellin set a very high standard of workmanship and accuracy, cementing France's leading role in European cartography and geography during this period. Many of his maps were copied by other mapmakers across the continent.