Rare map of the countries of West Africa on the Gulf of Guinea, including present-day Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria. It extends south to the archipelago of São Tomé and Príncipe off the coast of Gabon, and north to the towns of Genehoa in southern Senegal and Tombut, present-day Timbuktu in Mali. The coast of Liberia is called 'Coste des Greves or Malleguete', after the maniguette, or Guinea pepper. On Coste de l'Or (Gold Coast), present-day Ghana, is the city of 'Grand Accara', present-day Accra.

It is decorated with a title cartouche illustrated with two African cherubs and a compass rose. On Coste des Dents or Coste de l'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), the French map notes regions of "bad people" (male-gens) and "good people" (bone-gens). It includes an inset of a detailed map of the coast of Senegal as well as a key explaining which territories were colonised by the English, Danish, Dutch, and Portuguese.

Pierre Duval (1618-1683) was a French geographer, cartographer, and publisher based in Abbeville and Paris. He was the nephew and pupil of Nicolas Sanson, known as the "father of French cartography". Duval held the title of Géographe Ordinaire du Roi from 1650 and died in 1683. Unusually, his wife and daughters continued the business after his death.

Original hand-colour. [AFR6382]