By: Jacques Nicolas Bellin

Date: 1758 (dated) Paris

Dimensions: 8.75 x 11.75 inches (22.25 x 30 cm)

Antique map of Spitsbergen by Jacques Nicolas Bellin. the most prolific contributor to 18th century French nautical charts.

Spitsbergen. presently known as Svalbard. is off the northern Norwegian coast. and is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago. The island is bordered by the Arctic Ocean. the Norwegian Sea and the Greenland Sea. This small group of islands is the westernmost group in the archipelago. 

This map shows the island and some smaller adjacent ones in some detail. with mountains depicted pictorially.  Shoals and shallows are shown around the shore lines. as are places for safe anchorages. and notations regarding discoveries and exploration are included in various places. The map is embellished with a decorative title cartouche. and a fleur-de-lis on the rhumb line to Paris.

The island is popular in modern times for its large population of polar bears and for its relatively untouched local culture.  It is perhaps most famous worldwide for the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. which safeguards duplicates of 1.214.827 seed samples from almost every country in the world.

Condition: This map is in A condition with lovely hand coloring over a sharp impression with ample margins on all sides.

Inventory #12683