Carte de la Côte de Guzerat, du Golfe de Cambaye et des Côtes de Concan et de Canara
not dated but 1745
Original copper engraving with later hand colouring on paper
Plate size: 27.5 x 19.75 in (69.5 x 50.3 cm)
Sheet size: 31.25 x 21.25 in (79.3 x 53.8 cm)
With Mount size: 35.25 x 28.75 in (89.5 x 73 cm)
Coastal Map of the western coast of India, including Gujarat, the Gulf of Cambay, Konkan and Canara (Kanara, Karavali). Includes inset of Plan de la rivière de Surate (Surat and the Tapti (Tapi) River)
A rare nautical chart or maritime map of the western Indian coasts near Bombay (Mumbai) and Goa from 1775. This map, which was created by Jean-Baptiste d'Apres de Mannevillette, spans the regions of Gujarat and the Konkan beaches, the Bay of Cambaye (Gulf of Khambhat), Surat, Bombay, Goa, and the Coast of Kanara. With numerous soundings and adjustments, this map - one of Mannevillette's most notable charts - offers major updates over most prior charts. This map is one of the few that shows the seven islands that make up modern-day Bombay or Mumbai and how they are now connected. Only a few years later, as the waterways between these islands started to be filled in or clogged with silt, was the practice discontinued.
This map's fundamental cartography originates from Mannevillette's early 1700s journeys as a pilot for the Compagnie des Indes. It was first released in 1745 in Paris. It is unclear whether this is the 1745 edition because there don't appear to have been any significant changes between the first and second editions. In any event, the Neptune Oriental extended its second edition and reissued it in 1775.
Numerous depth soundings, annotations on the ocean floor, commentary on reefs, rhumb lines, shoals, place names, and a wealth of other useful information for mariners are all included in the great detail of the map. Jean-Baptiste d'Apres de Mannevillette created this chart, and Guillaume-Nicolas Delahaye engraved it for publication in the 1775 Neptune Oriental.
Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Denis d'Après de Mannevillette was a French sailor, navigator, and hydrographer who lived in the middle of the 18th century (February 11, 1707–March 1, 1780). Mannevillette was a wealthy seafarer's son who was born in Le Havre. When he was 12 years old, he travelled to Bengal with his father, Captain Jean-Baptiste-Claude d'Après de Blangy of the Compagnie des Indes (French EastIndia Company) ship Solide. He studied mathematics and navigation in Paris under Joseph Nicholas De L'Isle (1688–1768) after returning to France, and at the age of 19, he joined the commercial ship Marechel d'Estrees as a fourth officer. The Compagnie des Indes finally promoted Mannevillette to the position of Captain.
Mannevillette gathered and updated a large number of nautical charts over his several trips around Africa to India and China. Mannevillette was able to remedy a number of serious mistakes present in older maps because to his clever use of the most recent tools, most notably the Octant or English Quarter. The 1745 Le Neptune Oriental, Mannevillette's most important work, eventually collected and published these additions. The 1745 Neptune Oriental was commissioned by the Compagnie des Indes, and Mannevillette was granted membership in the Academy of Sciences for its creation. The atlas was favourably received, but soon after it was published, the French Admiralty burned the majority of the unsold copies because they believed that the secrets of East Indian navigation were too hazardous to be shared. Mannevillette was appointed director of charts at Lorient by the Compagnie des Indes in 1762.
He received the Order of St. Michael in 1767, and King Louis XV also made him a member of the Royal Marine Academy. Le Neptune Oriental was originally published thirty years after Mannevillette's tireless effort with lifetime friend Alexander Dalrymple (1737–1808) to update the original book with fresh and enhanced charts. By the time he revised and enlarged his opus in 1775, nautical knowledge was no longer held in such high regard. On March 1, 1780, Mannevillette, who was 75 years old, passed away.
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