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1791 Bocage Map of The Bosphorus and the City of Byzantium / Istanbul / Constantinople
Bosphorus-bocage-1791$87.50
Title
Plan du Bosphore de Thrace Pour le Voyage du Jeune Anacharsis.
1791 (undated) 9 x 13 in (22.86 x 33.02 cm)
1791 (undated) 9 x 13 in (22.86 x 33.02 cm)
Description
This lovely map, depicting the Bosphorus and the city of Byzantium (modern day Istanbul), was prepared by M. Barbie de Bocage, after D'Anville, for the 1785 Travels of Anacharsis. The map shows the narrow naval passage from the Propontis (Sea of Marmara) to the Pontus euxinus (Black Sea). There is a beautiful inset plan of the Horn of Byzantium. Today Byzantium is Istanbul, but the horn and many of the ancient structures still exist. This map also shows the surrounds regions in considerable topographical detail.
Anacharsis was a Scythian philosopher who travelled from his homeland on the northern shores of the Black Sea to Athens in the early 6th century BCe. Apparently he made a great impression on the Greeks, who considered him a forthright, outspoken 'barbarian. He is considered a forerunner of the Cynics.
Anacharsis was a Scythian philosopher who travelled from his homeland on the northern shores of the Black Sea to Athens in the early 6th century BCe. Apparently he made a great impression on the Greeks, who considered him a forthright, outspoken 'barbarian. He is considered a forerunner of the Cynics.
Cartographer
Jean Denis Barbie du Bocage (1760 - 1825) and his son Jean-Guillaume Barbie du Bocage (1795 - 1848) were French cartographers and cosmographers active in Paris during late 18th and early 19th centuries. The elder Barbie du Bocage, Jean Denis, was trained as a cartographer and engraver in the workshops of mapmaking legend J. B. B. d'Anville. At some point Jean Denis held the post of Royal Librarian of France and it was through is associations with d'Anville that the d'Anville collection of nearly 9000 maps was acquired by French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The younger Barbie du Bocage, Jean-Guillaume, acquired a position shortly afterwards at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, in time, became its head, with the title of Geographe du Ministere des Affaires Etrangeres. More by this mapmaker...
Source
Barbie du Bocage, J. D., Recueil de Cartes Geographiques Plans, Vues, et Medailles de l'Ancienne Grece, Reelatifs au Voyage du Jeune Anacharsis., (Paris, Chez Sanson et Compagnie), 1791.
Condition
Very good. Original platemark visible. Original centerfold. Blank on verso. Dark clean impression.