"Hemisphere Septentrional pour voir Plus Distinctoment les Terres Arctiques / Hemisphere Meridional pour voir Plus Distinctement les Terres Australes", Ottens, Reiner and Joshua

An attractive pair of maps on two joined sheets that was originally issued by Delisle in 1714 and updated by the Ottens brothers.

The important map of the Northern Hemisphere was drawn with Delisle’s characteristic scientific approach. It was the first map to correctly place the west coast of North America, moving it substantially east from previous mapping. California is shown as a peninsula at a time when it was often still shown as an island, even in other maps drawn by Delisle, although a dotted line still hints at the possibility of the island form. Near the northern coast of Asia is Terre de la Compagnie with a note about its discovery by Jean de Gama. Delisle based his depiction of the Northern Pacific on the voyage of Fondant in 1709. The Ottens edition includes updates to northern Asia.

The Southern Hemisphere map shows the tracks of the explorers and circumnavigators around the southern oceans including Magellan in 1520, Abel Tasman in 1642, and Edmund Halley in 1698-1700. The map provides very good detail, particularly of the explorations and discoveries in the South Pacific. Australia, New Guinea, Tasmania, and New Zealand are partially delineated, with Australia and New Guinea nearly attached to one another. This edition includes updates based upon the recent Antarctic explorations of Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier in 1739.

Both French and Dutch text panels flank the sides of the maps and describe recent explorations in Kamchatka (left) and recent explorations along with a small map of Cape of Circumcision (right). Measures 47.3 x 18.6" with panels of text.

References: cf. Wagner #504; cf. Tooley (Australia) p. xxxi, #42.

Condition: B+

Light surface soiling with several small separations adjacent to the joint that have been repaired on verso with archival material.