"L'Amerique Dressee pour l'Etude de la Geographie...", Brion de la Tour/Desnos

This decorative map features a landscape-style title cartouche and several sailing ships. While the interior of the map contains little cartographic information, the northwest part of North America is quite interesting. A large bay labeled, Entrée de Martin d’Aguilar en 1603 indents the coastline, while above that, a river and lake system provide a complex Northwest Passage. There is a notation that the existence of a Sea of the West is questionable just above this fictitious passage. The map is surrounded by an elaborate border printed from a separate plate. Brion was the former Geographer to the King of France, and Desnos was Geographer to the King of Denmark.

References: McGuirk #130.

Condition: B

On watermarked paper with light toning along the centerfold, minor soiling, and a short centerfold separation that enters the border at top. There are some small chips along the edges and light dampstaining in the bottom blank margin, all well away from map image.