L'Amerique Meridionale et Septentrionale - 1731

I bought this a couple days ago at Urban Ore in Berkeley. It came in a nice old frame, which i haven't photographed yet. i took it out of the frame to inspect it more clearly. At first i thought it might be a copy, but i don't think so. It's made of very thin paper which has been glued onto a stiffer paper board. It is engraved and hand-colored. There are some impressions of other words at the central base of the map - barely seen in the last photo here. They are impressions of some large words which i can't quite make out. It may even be a water mark - not sure.

I found this info online: Guillaume Danet continued the great map publishing tradition of his Father-in-law, Nicholas De Fer. His separately issued map of America is one of the decorative high points of the 18th century.

Geographically, the map is drawn from De L'Isle's map of America. However, from a decorative standpoint, this map is one of the most distinctive of the Americas of the 18th Century. The map is enclosed by four borders, those running along the top and bottom contain portraits of the New World explorers and those on either side are illuminated with charming illustrations of the signs of the zodiac. A large inset panel of text provides historical notes on the explorers portrayed in the panels. Numerous other notes across the map provide a fascinating compliment to the geography on the map itself.

Danet was not a prolific cartographer and his striking map is considered rare.