Carte de Bombay et ses Environs; Kaart van Bombay, en omliggende Plaatsen (Map of Bombay, and Surrounding Places)

Circa 1760s

Copper engraving on paper

8 x 11 in (20.3 x 27.9 cm)

BOMBAY AND ITS ENVIRONS: AN EARLY HARBOUR MAP BY JEAN NICOLAS BELLIN, ENGRAVED BY JACOB VAN DER SCHLEY, C.1760S

Beautifully drawn early map of Bombay Harbour, known today as "Front Bay". Shows depths and sandbars. Also includes pictorial details including churches, forts, and ships. This map by Jean Nicholas Bellin is engraved by Jacob van der Schley, published as plate no. 3 in volume 9 of the 1752 French edition of Abbe Provost's Abrege L'Histoire Generale Des Voyages.

This is the Plan of Bombay and its Vicinity, which is a sea route map of the island of Bombay (consisting of seven smaller islands), the island of Salsette, the island of the Jesuites (Jesuites is an order of Roman Catholic Priests), the island of Caronja and the island of Chaul.

This finely engraved map of Bombay (now Mumbai), issued circa 1760 by Jacques Nicolas Bellin, captures the port city as it emerged as the East India Company’s principal base in India, supplanting Surat to the north amidst ongoing hostilities. Bombay had passed from Portuguese to British hands as part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza on her marriage to Charles II, and under Company lease it quickly developed into a thriving harbour, strategically placed on the Persian Gulf–Indian Ocean trade route.

Early printed maps of Bombay remain rare, and Bellin, in preparing this plate, relied upon Samuel Thornton’s late seventeenth-century chart—the earliest known printed map of the city, now virtually unobtainable. Subsequent cartographers throughout the eighteenth century drew heavily on Thornton’s model, and Bellin was no exception: the soundings, anchorages, and general configuration of the coastline here all betray that reliance. Bellin’s compact map thus preserves the Thornton tradition while presenting Bombay’s rising prominence to a European readership.

Jacques Nicholas Bellin (1703-1772)
He was one of the most significant cartographers of the 18th century and was made the French Navy's chief cartographer in 1721 when he was just 18 years old. He was appointed Official Hydrographer of the French King in August 1741 and became the first Ingenieur de la Marine of the Depot des cartes et plans de la Marine (the French Hydrographical Office).

The Depot was the most active centre for the creation of sea charts and maps during his tenure as Official Hydrographer, and it produced the Neptune Francois, a massive folio-style sea chart of France. He also created a number of sea atlases of the world, including the Hydrographie Francaise and the Atlas Maritime. These were republished throughout the 18th century and even into the next century, when they attained recognition, distinction, and esteem throughout all of Europe.

Bellin also produced smaller-format maps, such as the 580 exquisitely detailed charts seen in the 1764 Petit Atlas Maritime. He also supplied a number of maps to Antoine Francois Prevost's 15 volume Histoire Generale des Voyages, better known as l'Abbe Prevost.

Bellin established exceptionally high standards for craftsmanship and accuracy, helping France take the lead in European geography and cartography. Other European mapmakers duplicated many of his maps.

NON-EXPORTABLE

This lot is offered at NO RESERVE

This lot will be shipped in "as is" condition. For further details, please refer to the images of individual lots as reference for the condition of each lot.