This find large scale sea chart of the southern tip of South America and the Falkland Islands comes from the French edition of Captain James Cook's voyage around the world entitled 'Voyage dans l'Hemisphere Australe et autour du Monde'. An inset lower right focuses on New Years Island and nearby harbour on Staten Island at the tip of Tierra del Fuego. The whole is engraved by Benard. Sabin 16249.

The voyages of Abel Tasman in 1642 discovered the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand but he identified the land as an extension of that found by Willem Cornelisz Schouten and Jacob Le Maire and named is ‘Staten Land’. It was not until Captain James Cook arrived at the eastern shore of the North Island on 6 October 1768 and sailed around the islands that their true identity was revealed. Land was first sighted by a boy called Nicholas Young and his immortality continues in the naming of ‘Young Nick’s Head’ to this day. Immediately Cook set about mapping the islands, including observing on the 9 November the transit of Mercury which enabled them to fix the location of a point north of the Coromandel Peninsula. Poor weather hampered some of the charting but he did fix the northern tip of the island to within two minutes of its actual latitude and four minutes in longitude. After repairs Cook continued mapping the South Island and by the end of March had completed his task and proved the insular nature of New Zealand.The official account of Cook’s First Voyage was published in London in 1773 and includes this, the FIRST MAP OF NEW ZEALAND. This example comes from the French translation appearing the following year and is engraved by Robert Bénard. Suarez (2004)’ pp. 130-1; Tooley, R. V. ‘Map Collector Series’ no. 64, no. 339; Tooley, R.V. (1979) pl. 21.

From G.W. Anderson, 'New Authentic and Complete Collection of Voyages Round the World ...' Anderson's voyages was first published in weekly parts, the work described the voyages of Cook along with many other English eighteenth century ones. Shirley 'Atlases in the British Library' G.And 1a no. 11.

A fine engraving by Robert Bernard published in the French edition of the voyages of Captain Cook, 1778. Shirley G.Cook 3a.

A fine engraving by Robert Bernard published in the French edition of the voyages of Captain Cook, 1778. Shirley G.Cook 3a.

A fine engraving of New Hebrides from the Dutch edition of the voyages of Captain Cook, 1778.

A fine engraving of New Hebrides from the Dutch edition of the voyages of Captain Cook, 1778.

A fine engraving from the voyages of Captain Cook, 1773.

A fine engraving from the voyages of Captain Cook, 1774.

James Corbridge was a surveyor in Norwich in the first half of the eighteenth century. He produced numerous estate plans but is best known for his large scale maps of Norfolk, Norwich and Great Yarmouth. His career began in Newcastle and amongst his early work is the first plan of the town. In the early 1720s he moved to Norwich and in 1730 he published his great large scale map of the county of Norfolk, the first to be printed. In 1735 he published this large single sheet reduction complete with extensive lists of the towns and villages in the county in surrounding panels. Each is keyed to the map and has their Hundred identified along with the distance in miles from Norwich. Circles of distance from Kings Lynn and Norwich radiate the map. The coastline is decorated with ornate images of seven boats and ships. Top centre can be found Corbridge’s dedication to Baron Walpole. The map is engraved to the scale of three miles to the inch, each grid marking three miles. The year after the publication of the larger map Thomas Goddard and William Chase published a pirated copy. In this reduction by Corbridge he could not resist having a go at them about the scale of miles stating lower right ‘I refer them to Mr. Chase and his Map (if they doubt my Scale of Miles which contains 1760 yards) for if I mistake not he has given three Scales to his Map which he calls Great Middle and Small, things Uncommon in Surveys of Countys and as useless as the 3 heads Imploy’d in Copying My Late Map of Norfolk’. Thomas and John Bowles and Robert Sayer were the publishers of the second edition of the Norwich town plan and the original map of Norfolk. The map is NOT LISTED IN RODGER’S list of large scale maps and only one example appears to have ever appeared at auction. According to Raymond Frostick this is the second of four known states. Frostick, James Corbridge, IMCoS Journal no. 115 pp. 33-40; Frostick Norfolk 27.2; not in Rodger.