Original 1788 Map Capt. Carteret Voyage SOLOMON ISLANDS

Original copperplate engraved hand colored antique map showing the sea-track of HMS Swallow, commanded by British explorer Captain Philip Carteret, printed more than 223 years ago.

This map was drawn by Rigobert Bonne, Ingénieur Hydrographie de la Marine and published in Paris in 1788. It has a large French style compass rose at the center and three insets. The scans below give a closer look:

This chart is titled Isles de la Reine Charlotte, or Queen Charlotte's Islands, as named by Carteret and today more familiarly known as the Solomon Islands, featuring what is now referred to as the Santa Cruz Islands dominated by Lord Egmont's Island or New Guernsey, Lord Howe's Island or New Jersey, Lord Edgcombe's Island or New Sark, Ourrys Island or New Alderney, and Swallow Island. The map locates a volcanic island to the north and has a large inset of Carteret's Island and the names of numerous capes including Byron, Barrington, Proby, Trevanion, and Boscawen.

The image area measures 23.5 x 35 cm [9-1/4" x 13-3/4"], and the map was engraved by Gaspard André. Relief is shown by hachures, and longitude is measured from Paris. The map is identified at the upper right as Plate 135, and it is from Atlas Encyclopédique, contenant la Géographie Anciene, et quelques Cartes sur la Géographie du Moyen Age, la Géographie Moderne, et les Cartes Relatives a la Géographie Physique by Rigobert Bonne and Nicolas Desmarest.

Condition: This map is in very good condition, bright and clean, with no rips or tears. There is a vertical center fold, as issued, and the map is blank on the back, with no printing on the reverse side.

This is an original, authentic antique map, not a reproduction or modern reprint, and it is fully guaranteed to be genuine. It would make a handsome display in your den or office. It would also make a perfect gift, and we'll include our helpful framing tips for your reference, along with a photocopy of the dated title page from the book in which it was published.

Carteret had sailed these waters in 1767, having rounded the tip of South America and headed out into the unknown currents of the Pacific. There he discovered the Pitcairn Islands and sailed on past the Isles of Danger to Queen Charlotte’s Islands, visited 200 years earlier by the Spanish explorer Alvaro de Mendaña de Neira, and the Carteret Islands, shown in the large inset at the left. This map is a wonderful record of part of Captain Carteret's historic voyage, and we are pleased to offer it with our unconditional, money-back guarantee.