|
||
|
|
|
|
The First Printed Map to Show Five Great Lakes
Nice example of Jean Boisseau's edition of Samuel De Champlain's 1632 map, first published in Paris in 1643.
Boisseau's map was the first map derived from Champlain and pre-dates Du Val's important map of the region by 10 years. While it was long believed that Nicholas Sanson's map of 1650 was the first map to name and illustrate the 5 Great Lakes, in recent years it has been determined that Boisseau's "rare map is, in fact, the first printed to illustrate and name all five Great Lakes, pre-dating the Nicolas Sanson map of 1650. . ."
Burden notes that Boisseau's map takes the work of Champlain and makes a number of updates and improvements, adding the names that previously appeared only in Champlain's keys. There is no real recognition of the English presence in North America beyond 'Immestan' and 'Chesapeacq Bay'. The nomenclature in NewEngland in entirely that of Champlain.
On Champlain's map of 1632, both Lakes Erie and Michigan were unnamed. Here, Boisseau identifies the lakes as: Lac St. Louis (Lake Ontario); Lac Derie (Lake Erie); Mer Douce ou Lac (Lake Huron), Grand Lac (Lake Superior); and Lac des Puans (Lake Michigan). Champlain's information here was secondhand, and thus he greatly underestimated its size. "Mer Douce ou Lac" is Lake Huron, and "Grand Lac" is Lake Superior, both of which are closer to their actual shapes. Lake Michigan may have been mistaken for the "Lac des Puans" to the northwest, or for the "Grande Riviere qui vient du Midy" that flows to the south. Nevertheless, as early as 1643 there were intimations in Europe that another great body of water still remained unexplored in the heart of North America.
Burden notes that "[a]lthough the configuration and size of [the lakes] are incorrect, this is the first map to delineate and identify all five Great Lakes." Besides Champlain, Boisseau drew from other sources; for example, the naming of Chesapeake Bay is likely derived from John Smith.
States of the Map and Rarity
The present example is the rare first state of Boisseau's map.
The map is known in 2 states:
- State 1: 1643 date.
- State 2: circa 1664 without the imprint and date in the cartouche, and with the addition of London, Bristou, Gotenbourg, N. Amsterdam and Christina, along with degrees of longitude and latitude.
Both states of the map are scarce, with the second state being the rarer of the states.
![[ Mississippi River Atlas ] Theorie der Bewegung des Wassers in Flüssen und Canälen. . . . (Atlas Volume)](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/101700.jpg)
![[Anchorage, Valdez and Prince William Sound] Cote Nord-Ouest De L'Amerique Reconnue par le Cape. Vancouver VIe. Partie . . .](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/92676.jpg)
