Decorative map of the Americas showing California as an island. Embellished with three cartouches.

De Fer (1646-1720) was the son of a prominent engraver and produced his first map in 1669. He joined his father's business in 1673 and ultimately took over in 1687. He was a prolific map maker who produced over six hundred separate maps in multiple forms; as separate issues, bound within history and travel books, and as atlases. In the late 17th century he was made Geographer to the Dauphin.

This finely engraved but quite haphazard map was primarily based on de Fer's great wall map of 1698. As it is a reduction of that map, much of the detail has been lost. However, some features are still very apparent, such as the portrayal of California as an island and the positioning of the mouth of the Mississippi River on the coastline of modern Texas. The geography of South America is equally sketchy, dividing the continent into its Spanish Audiencias and Portuguese Brazil. As usual, the map is engraved in de Fer's "irregular" coastal style, showing the lack of specific information about the local shape of the coastline.

Aesthetically, the map is striking, with a large dedication to the royal princes of France on the upper left as well as a cartouche where he credits the information on this map as the work of French Royal Academy of Sciences.
Coloured. [AMER2403]