[World]. DELISLE (Guillaume) ; (BUACHE) Philippe. Mappemonde - Lot 4

[World]. DELISLE (Guillaume) ; (BUACHE) Philippe. Mappemonde à l'usage du Roy par Guillaume Delisle... À Paris, Philippe Buache, [ca. 1754]. 1 copper-engraved map, 48 x 71 cm (sheet), hand-colored (restored, tiny wormholes, uniformly browned). This world map by Philippe Buache is based on the one by Guillaume Delisle. It improves the representation of Australia by completing the coastline of New Holland, although New Zealand remains incomplete. It incorporates the discoveries of the last thirty years, notably south of the Cape of Good Hope and in the South Sea. It traces the routes of major explorers such as Magellan, Le Maire, Tasman and Quiroz. A notable feature is the Land of Juan de Gama, a legendary territory to the east of Japan. Its existence, evoked in the 17th century, was questioned by Bering, Cook and other explorers. The debate, centered on its exact location, animated 18th-century cartographers such as Delisle, de la Croyere and Tchirikov.