Maurice Barres, Philippe Barres (Editor)Biblio.com
DES BARRES, Joseph F Wallet (1721-1824)Biblio.com
Miramichi Bay
178134986London: J. F. W. Des Barres 1781. Engraved with aquatint on single double-page sheet watermarked "J. Bates." Excellent condition with minor repairs along centerfold. Detailed depiction of the mouth of the Miramachi River in New Brunswick and Miramachi Bay in the Gulf of St. Larwence.<br/> <br/> Des Barres of Swiss-Huguenot extraction studied under the great mathematician Daniel Bernoulli at the University of Basel before continuing on to the Royal Military College at Woolwich. Upon the outbreak of hostilities with France in 1756 he joined the British Royal American Regiment as a military engineer. He came to the attention of General James Wolfe who appointed him to join his personal detail. During this period he also worked with the future legendary explorer James Cook on a monumental chart of the St. Lawrence River. From 1762 Des Barres was enlisted to survey the coastlines of Nova Scotia Newfoundland and the Gulf of St. Lawrence while his colleague Samuel Holland charted the New England coast. He also managed to gain access to some surveys of the American South Cuba and Jamaica. In 1774 Des Barres returned to England where he began work on The Neptune. His dedication to the project was so strong that often at his own expense he continually updated and added new charts and views up until 1784. That year he returned to Canada where he remained for a further forty years becoming a senior political figure and a wealthy land owner and living to the advanced age of 103. The Atlantic Neptune the most celebrated sea atlas contained the first systematic survey of the east coast of North America. Des Barres's synergy of great empirical accuracy with the peerless artistic virtue of his aquatint views created a work that "has been described as the most splendid collection of charts plates and views ever published" National Maritime Museum Catalogue. Upon the conclusion of the Seven Years War Britain's empire in North America was greatly expanded and this required the creation of a master atlas featuring new and accurate sea charts for use by the Royal Navy. Des Barres was charged with this Herculean task publishing the first volume in London in 1775 which was soon followed by three further volumes. Des Barres's monumental endeavor eventually featured over two-hundred charts and views many being found in several states. Des Barres's charts were immensely detailed featuring both hydrographical and topographical information and in many cases remained the most authoritative maps of the regions covered for several decades. The survey of the St. Lawrence River and Gulf was conducted by Samuel Holland who provided many charts to the immense hydrographic enterprise realized in the Atlantic Neptune. This is the fourth state of the map with the imprint date changed to 1781.<br/> <br/> HNS 131D; Spendlove The Face of Early Canada Chapter 4: "J.F.W. Des Barres and The Atlantic Neptune"; pp. 18-22; Debard "The Family Origins of Joseph Fredericks Wallet Des Barres: A Riddle Finally Solved" Nova Scotia Historical Review Vol 14 No. 2 1994 p.15. J. F. W. Des Barres unknown
Donald Heald Rare Books · États-Unis2 000,00 $US≈ 1 692,20 €
