Suite de la Carte de la Sibérie et du Pays de Kamtschatka

France, c. 1748

Copperplate engraving on laid paper

A striking mid-eighteenth-century French map charting Siberia and the Kamchatka Peninsula at the outer edge of European geographic certainty. Issued as part of the monumental Histoire Générale des Voyages, this plate belongs to the Enlightenment project of assembling the world through exploration, testimony, and engraved line.

The map depicts the Russian Far East, the Sea of Okhotsk, and Kamchatka as understood only decades after Bering’s voyages. Mountain ranges are rendered in confident relief, river systems push inland with speculative logic, and coastlines reflect a geography still being negotiated between observation and conjecture.

Printed on period laid paper with visible chain lines, the engraving remains strong, with crisp line work and legible toponymy throughout. The sheet shows the physical reality of eighteenth-century atlas production: irregular trimming, offset plate impression, and the quiet evidence of handling across generations.

Details

Title: Suite de la Carte de la Sibérie et le Pays de Kamtschatka

Date: mid-18th century (c. 1750–1780)

Place: Paris

Maker: Jacques-Nicolas Bellin

Medium: Copper engraving on laid paper

Subject: Siberia; Kamchatka Peninsula; Sea of Okhotsk; Sakhalin; Russian Far East; Arctic exploration

Dimensions: approx. 14 × 12 inches (sheet); plate within margins

Condition

Original vertical centerfold as issued, with additional folds at the lower left and lower right, the latter producing a slight overlap without ink loss. A narrow strip of period paper is affixed along the verso centerline; it does not join separate sheets and corresponds to no tears or structural breaks, suggesting a historical reinforcement or archival intervention rather than repair of damage. One small area of paper thinning is present at the upper right verso from an earlier adhesive removal attempt; there is no perforation and no loss of printed surface. A single adhesive dot remains at the upper left verso and has been intentionally left in place to avoid further disturbance. Irregular sheet edges and offset printing are consistent with eighteenth-century atlas production. Overall, a stable, intact example with honest signs of age and use.

Framing: Unframed

Provenance: Private collection

Portfolio: Blackwell Portfolio — Working Cartography