Carte Reduite de la Mer des Indes, et d’une parte de Celle de Sud, ….

Scarce large scale c.18th hand coloured chart of the south seas, prominently showing Australia with the discoveries of Cook on the east coast but not including current knowledge of Bass Strait (Bass & Flinders 1798) and just prior to the charting of the southern coast by Baudin and Flinders (1802)

The tracks of the ships l’Esperance and la Republic under the command of Bruni d’Entrecasteux are shown. D’Entrecasteaux was given the command of the expedition in search of Jean-Francois de La Perouse, who had last been seen by the First Fleet leaving Botany Bay in March 1788. The mystery of La Perouse’s disappearance was solved by Dumont D’Urville in 1826 when he found relics of La Perouse’s shipwreck in Vanikoro (Santa Cruz Islands- Solomon Islands).

‘A rare account of a voyage with tremendous significance to the exploration of Australia and the Pacific. ‘ Wantrup.

From: La Billardière, Jacques-Julien Houtou de, Atlas pour servir à la relation du voyage à la recherche de la Pérouse. Paris

References:
Wantrup, J. Australian Rare Books. Sydney 1987 : 64a-b.
Hill, J. The Hill Collection of Pacific Voyages. San Diego 1974 : 467.
Sabin, J. A Dictionary of Books Relating to America, from its Discovery to the Present Time. New York. (1936) 1967. : 22671.
Ferguson, J. A. Bibliography of Australia Volumes 1-8, Canberra 1976 : 308, 682.

Collections:
National Library Australia: Bib ID 87072
State Library Victoria: RARELTF ; 910.41 L11
State Library New South Wales: Call Numbers:Q980/7A4, RB/DQ990A/46
State Library South Australia: 990 L119 b
State Library of Western Australia: F00209
Auckland Art Gallery Toiotamaki: Accession no 1965/1
Bibliotheque Nationale de France: Identifier: ark:/12148/bpt6k1056866x