Carte Générale Des Découvertes de l’Amiral de Fonte

Striking and highly detailed fine unusual 1772 copper engraved map of the Northwest Coast, showing Joseph Nicolas de l’Isle’s conjectural northwest coast, based upon De Font and Russian Discoverers, including the Bay of the West. The map shows Siberia, the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Bering Strait, the northwestern edge of North America, and a Northwest Passage. The mythical “Quivira” and Sea of the West or “Mer de l’Ouest” in North America is displayed. Shows Alaska as land discovered by the Russians in 1741 and incorrectly defines it as a small island. Includes notes and names of Native American places. Shows Hudson’s and Baffin’s Bays. Also includes discoveries and routes made by Captain Vitus Bering, Aleksei Chirikov, and Nicolas de Frondat. An inset map in the upper left corner shows the Strait of Anian or “Detroit d’Anian” along with three large islands in detail. The map is part of the great mid-18th Century debate, spurred by the reports of Joseph Nicolas de l’Isle of the Russian