Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Jacques Nicolas Bellin Map of the Great Lakes, 1755
Overview of the Collection
- Title
- Jacques Nicolas Bellin Map of the Great Lakes
- Dates
- 175517551755
- Quantity
-
0.125 linear feet, (1 item)
The map is 43 x 53 cm. - Collection Number
- MSS 105
- Summary
- Map titled Partie occidentale de la Nouvelle France : ou du Canada par Mr. Bellin, ingénieur du roy de la marine pour servir à l'intelligence des affaires de l'etat present en Amerique, communiquée au public par les Héritiers de Homan, also known as the 1755 "Bellin Map," made in the last years of French control of New France.
- Repository
-
Boise State University Library, Special Collections and Archives
Special Collections and Archives
1910 University Drive
Boise ID
83725
Telephone: 2084263990
archives@boisestate.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Collection is available for research.
- Languages
- French
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Jacques Nicolas Bellin is mentioned as hydrogapher to King Louis XV in The Mapping of America by Seymour I. Schwartz and Ralph E. Ehrenberg (Harry N. Abrams, 1980).
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The 1755 "Bellin Map," titled Partie occidentale de la Nouvelle France : ou du Canada par Mr. Bellin, ingénieur du roy de la marine pour servir à l'intelligence des affaires de l'etat present en Amerique, communiquée au public par les Héritiers de Homan, is a well-known map of Canada, made in the last years of French control of New France. The map covers the area from Lake Superior to Kaskaskia and from Delaware Bay to the Mississippi River. It shows a few towns, missions, forts, Indian villages and tribal territory, rivers and lakes, portages, and early place-names.
The map was published in Nürnberg in 1755. The relief is shown pictorially and the scale is about 1:3,500,000.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Preferred Citation
Jacques Nicolas Bellin Map of the Great Lakes, Boise State University Special Collections and Archives.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Acquisition Information
Gift of Mary Spencer Bradford in 1990.
Related Materials
There are two version of the map. The version held by Albertsons Library Special Collections and Archives is the version that also appears as the front endpaper for Men and Meridians: The History of Surveying and Mapping in Canada, volume 1, by Don W. Thomson (Ministry of Supply and Services Canada, 1966; reprint 1984).
Another version was published as Plate 97 in The Mapping of America by Seymour I. Schwartz and Ralph E. Ehrenberg (Harry N. Abrams, 1980). This version has a shorter cartouche. Also, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario are oriented slightly differently.
The 1755 map is an updated version of Bellin's map of 1745, also titled Partie occidentale de la Nouvelle France.
Custodial History
The map was presented to Mr. Edward Spencer as a gift on his retirement as dean of the Lawrence Technical Institute in Southfield, Mich. in the mid-1940's. Edward Spencer is the father of the donor, Mrs. Mary Bradford.
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Corporate Names
- Homann Erben (Firm)
Geographical Names
- Canada
- Great Lakes Region (North America)
Form or Genre Terms
- Maps
