1758 Carte Reduite des Isles Antilles Dressee au Depost des Cartes et Plans de la Marine...

This is a lovely, hand colored example of Jacques Bellin's nautical chart of the Lesser Antilles with a smaller inset map of the Virgin Islands. The map was published out of Paris in 1758, when Jacques Bellin was well into his tenure as the Official Hydrographer to the King of France, Louis XV. The main map extends from Angilla in the north to Grenada and Tobago in the south to include islands such as Saint Lucia, Martinique, Guadeloupe, St. Kitts, and Barbados to name a few. The smaller inset map to which Bellin credits English sources with the subtext "Tiree des Anglois," offers a detailed map of St. Croix, St. Thomas, Tortola, and Virgin Gorda among others. An inset in the top left portion of the sea chart features two coastal profiles of Saint Eustatius, a small island just northwest of St. Christophle (St. Kitts). This map would make an exceptional piece for anyone with ancestral ties to the Lesser Antilles or simply enjoys the region as a vacation destination. Its size and color