BIBLIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

Creator:
Bellin, Jacques Nicolas (1703-72)

Title:
Suite du cours du fleuve de St. Laurent depuis Quebec jusqu'au Lac Ontario

Publication information:
[Paris], 1757

Description:
Copperplate engraving, 19 x 29 cm.

Subjects:
1. Adirondack Mountains (N.Y.)--Maps--Early works to 1800.
2. Saint Lawrence River--Maps--Early works to 1800.
3. Ontario, Lake (N.Y. and Ont.)--Maps--Early works to 1800.

Notes:
1. Scale ca. 1:2,850,000.
2. Relief shown pictorially.
3."pour servir à l'Histoire générale des voyages. Par M.B., ing. de la mer."
4. Originally published in Prevost's Histoire Générale des Voyages. 1757.
5. This copy reprinted in Jean François de la Harpe's Abrégé de l'historie générale des voyages. 1780.
6. Scanned from original map in private collection on Epson Perfection 2400 scanner. Image modified using Adobe Photoshop.

Jacques Nicolas Bellin

Suite du cours du fleuve de St. Laurent depuis Quebec jusqu'au Lac Ontario, 1757.

This map of the St. Lawrence River region between Quebec and Lake Ontario is notable for its relatively detailed depiction of northern New York, including the Adirondack Mountains, and the rivers flowing into Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River. In its detail it compares favorably with any maps of northern New York produced by the British or the Americans until after the American Revolution. This map also reflects the status of military activities in the opening years of the French and Indian War. The British fort at Oswego is noted as being destroyed. The French Fort Carillon (Ticonderoga) is shown at the foot of Lake Champlain; the nearby British forts Edward and George are shown at the base of Lake George. The small French fort at Ogdensburg ("La Présentation") also makes an appearance, which is unusual on maps. Among the new fortifications depicted here is “Fort Toronto, francois,” making it possibly the earliest printed map that shows the existence of a European settlement on the site of the present city of Toronto. (The French Fort was destroyed by the British a few years after its construction in 1755, and a permanent settlement was established only after the American Revolution.)

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Created 9/7/03