An 18th-Century Manuscript Map of the St. Lawrence River

Jean-Nicolas Bellin, Carte du cours du fleuve St. Laurent, ca. 1733. Manuscript map, 3 sheets, 44.8×61.1 cm. Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.

Another one in French. Last month, Radio-Canada had the story of a manuscript map of the St. Lawrence River that was recently acquired by the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. The 18th-century map takes three sheets to trace the course of the St. Lawrence from the Ottawa River to Anticosti Island, and the BANQ’s map librarians have concluded that it’s the work of French philosophe and cartographer Jean-Nicolas Bellin. The map can be viewed on the BANQ’s website, which those who can’t read French should be able to manage. [WMS]