Rare copper engraved map of the southern coast of Western Australia from King George Sound to Shoal Cape showing the tracks of the Recherche and Esperance in December 1792. Relief shown by hachures. In the lower right margin, the engravers name Grave par E.Collins and the PRIX 1f 50c
This is Plate No.13 taken from the ‘Atlas du Voyage de Bruny-Dentrecasteaux, Contre-Amiral de France, Commandant les Fregates la Recherche et l’Esperance, fait par Ordre du Gouvernement en 1791, 1792 et 1793 : Publie par Ordre de sa Majeste l’Empereur et Roi, sous le Ministere de son Excellence le Vice-Amiral Decres … / par C.F. Beautemps-Beaupre. Paris. Depot General des Cartes et Plans de la Marine et des Colonies, 1807, which accompanies ‘Voyage de D’Entrescasteaux, Envoye a la Recherche de La Perouse; Redige par M. de Rossel. Paris : De l’Imprimerie Imperiale, 1808’. The Prime meridian is taken from Paris.
Joseph Antoine Bruny-d’Entrecasteaux was born at Aix in Provence in 1739 and died at sea in 1793. He entered the marine service at the age of 15, and soon won praise for his work as a hydrographer. He became governor of the islands of Mauritius and Bourbon. Later in 1791 he was put in charge of the expedition to search for la Perouse. During his voyage he explored, mapped and named many places on the coast of Australia. Baie de la Recherche, Port dl’Esperance, Detroit d’Entrecasteaux etc. The atlas ‘Atlas du Voyage de d’Entrecasteaux Envoye a la Recherche de la Perouse’ was published in Paris in 1807.
The charts prepared for d’Entrecasteaux mostly by Beautemps-Beaupre were of a very high quality and Matthew Flinders, the English explorer and hydrographer calling them the finest specimens of marine survey. The contribution made by d’Entrecasteaux to the mapping of the southern coast of Australia was indeed considerable.
