Beautiful sea chart of the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, extending from Morocco to the Levant, but also including Spain, the Balearics, Sardinia, Malta, and the Canary Islands. Large insets show the harbours of Tripoli and Algiers, as well as the Strait of Gibraltar. The map is based on surveys ordered by the King of Portugal.



The "Neptune Francois" sea atlas was first issued simultaneously in Paris and Amsterdam by Hubert Jaillot and Pierre Mortier, respectively, in 1693. The project was extremely successful and Mortier developed the Atlas by adding two more sections or volumes to it. The first, Volume II, was also issued in 1693 and consisted of a set of charts provided by the noted Dutch artist Romeyn de Hooghe. Collectively these are known as the "Cartes Marines a l'Usage des Armees du Roy de Grande Bretagne" and were originally drawn for William III of Great Britain. De Hooghe was primarily an artist and his charts bear a distinctive pictorial aspect. They have become renowned for their aesthetics, being cited as the most beautiful set of charts ever published. Volume III, added in 1700, is titled "Suite de Neptune", and concentrates on charts outside of French territory, including maps of the New World, the West Indies, South East Asia and the Indian Ocean among others.



Mortier's edition was a prestige work. Later scholars have found that his book was the most expensive sea atlas produced in Amsterdam up to that time. On the rare occasions that an example of one of the maps in full original colour can be obtained, it is easily perceived why this work is cited as one of the finest and most spectacular atlases ever produced.



Magnificent original hand-colour. [SL] [AFR6065]