Antique Engraved Map of the Friendly Islands or Tonga, ca.1785

Reference
PCT-58709
Date
1785
Category
Antique Map
Sheet size
25.0 x 38.2 cm (9.8 x 15.0 in)
Condition
Good
Availability
Available
Price
EUR 320

Antique map titled 'Carte des Isles des Amis'.

Map of the Friendly Islands / Tonga. The Tongan people first encountered Europeans in 1616 when the Dutch vessel Eendracht, captained by Willem Schouten, made a short visit to trade. Later came other Dutch explorers, including Jacob Le Maire.Tonga became known in the West as the Friendly Islands because of the congenial reception accorded to Captain James Cook on his first visit in 1773.

Artists and Engravers: Robert Bénard (1734 in Paris – 1777) was an 18th-century French engraver. Specialized in the technique of engraving, Robert Bénard is mainly famous for having supplied a significant amount of plates (at least 1,800) to the Encyclopédie by Diderot & d'Alembert from 1751. Later, publisher Charles-Joseph Panckoucke reused many of his productions to illustrate the works of his catalog.

Condition: Good, given age. A few tiny spots. Original folds as issued. General age-related toning and/or occasional minor defects from handling. Please study image carefully.

Where this sits in the catalogue


Bartele Gallery. Original antique maps, sea charts, engravings and works on paper. This is a plain text rendering of a page that is otherwise built in the browser. The catalogue index is at https://www.bartele.net/catalogue and machine readable notes are at https://www.bartele.net/llms.txt.