Nuove Scoperte de Russi al Nord di Mare dil Sud si nell Asia che nell America

One of the most decorative maps of the North Pacific and the Bering Strait, with an amusingly incorrect portrayal of the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and the Siberian coast of Asia. Of particular note is the speculative depiction of a Northwest Passage from Hudson Bay to the Pacific via a series of lakes and rivers, which also necessitated the depiction of Alaska as a group of islands.

The source maps used for this piece were first published in Paris by Joseph Nicholas de L'Isle, late of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg and a member of the Russian Great Northern Expeditions. The map's title also highlights 'Russia's new discoveries'.

The decorative title cartouche is also interesting, as it shows an elephant, a rhinoceros, a crocodile, and an ostrich, none of which are native to these regions. The ship in the background of the cartouche is often cited as being the "Endeavour" or Captain James Cook's first ship, recently returned from his ground-breaking voyages to Australia and the Pacific.

Original hand colour. [AMER2389]