Carte des Indes et de la Chine Dressée sur plusieurs Relations particulieres Rectifiées par quelles Observations Par Guillaume de L’Isle de l’Académie Royale des Sciences. A Amsterdam par chez Iean Cóvens et Corneille Mortier. [Map of the Indies and China Drawn up from several specific accounts, corrected by some observations. By Guillaume De L’Isle of the Royal Academy of Sciences. At Amsterdam, by Jean Cóvens and Corneille Mortier]

Description

original outline hand-colour copper engraving map from Guillaume de l’Isle (Delisle)’s masterwork, the Atlas Nouveau.

Depicts South, Southeast, and East Asia—spanning from the Caspian Sea and the Mughal Empire across the Philippines, China, Korea, Japan, and the East Indies—and exemplifies the 18th century shift toward scientific cartography. Guillaume de l’Isle (1675–1726), a pupil of the renowned astronomer Jean-Dominique Cassini, applied rigorous astronomical observations to correct long-standing longitudinal errors, replacing speculative geography with empirical precision. Issued by the Dutch publishing firm Cóvens & Mortier, who acquired and continued printing Delisle’s copperplates after his death, this handsome map remains a scarce and celebrated example of Enlightenment-era mapmaking.

The enterprise of Covens & Mortier was the successor to the publishing empire built by Frenchman Pierre Mortier (1661 – 1711). Upon Mortier’s death, his firm was taken over by his son, Cornelius Mortier (1699 – 1783). Cornelius married the sister of Johannes Covens (1697 – 1774) in 1721 and, partnering with his brother in law, established the Covens and Mortier firmin the same year; it survived 140 years (1721-1866), located at Vijgendam near Amsterdam/Netherlands. Cornelius and Pierre republished the works of the great 17th and early 18th century cartographers De L’Isle, Allard, Jansson, De Wit, and Ottens among others. They quickly became one of the largest and most prolific Dutch publishing houses of the 18th century.