Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1703 – 1772) Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1703 - 1772) is one of the most important cartographers of the 18th century. With a career spanning some 50 years, Bellin is an important transitional cartographer. His long career as "hydrographer" and "Ingénieur Hydrographe" to the Dépôt des cartes et plans de la Marine resulted in the completion of hundreds of high quality nautical charts of practically everywhere in the world. Bellin's work focuses on accuracy and tends to be less decorative than the earlier 17th and 18th century work of predecessors such as Homann. In addition to numerous works published during his lifetime, many of his maps were published posthumously. He was succeeded in his position by student Rigobert Bonne. Click here for a list of rare maps from Jacques-Nicolas Bellin. Rare maps by Jacques-Nicolas Bellin currently for sale. Rare maps by Jacques-Nicolas Bellin in the Geographicus Antique Map Archive.