Scarce c.18th engraved chart depicting sections of the coast in the Strait of Magellan, extending from York Bay to the Bay and Harbour of the Three Isles.
The plate comprises several detailed coastal profiles and inset plans, including Elizabeth Bay, the bay beneath the islands opposite York Road, St David’s Bay, and the shoreline between York Bay and Three Islands Bay, reflecting the practical hydrographic concerns of anchorage, soundings, and coastal recognition. The chart is based on surveys undertaken during Byron’s circumnavigation aboard HMS Dolphin (1764–66), one of the earliest British naval expeditions following Anson to systematically record the southern coasts of South America.
The map is frequently, though incorrectly, attributed to James Cook, a misconception arising from its inclusion John Hawkesworth’s Relation des voyages entrepris par ordre de Sa Majesté Britannique actuellement régnante, the authoritative continental edition of the official narratives of the voyages of Byron, Wallis, Carteret and Cook, and reflects Carteret’s independent surveying work during his circumnavigation of 1766–69.
From: Hawkesworth, J. Relation des voyages entrepris par ordre de Sa Majesté Britannique actuellement régnante.
References:
Beddie, M. Bibliography of Captain James Cook, RN,FRS, Circumnavigator. Sydney 1970: 659.
Collections:
Bibliotheque Nationale de France: 4-P2-19
National Library New Zealand: NLNZ ALMA 9913312233502836
New York Public Library: KBF (Hawkesworth, J. Relation des voyages entrepris) v. 1-4
State Library New South Wales: 991013932229702626
State Library Victoria: RARELTF ; 910.41 H31R
State Library South Australia: 910.4 H395 b
State Library Queensland: LCCallNum: 05034855