1930 Bergelin Map of the World and French Voyages of Discovery

This is a 1930 L. Bergelin pictorial map of the world celebrating French voyages of discovery from 1402 to 1840. This map appeared at the end of the Années folles, a post-World War I period of rich social, artistic, and cultural innovation centered in Paris. It coincided with a resurgence of French national pride, much of which was expressed in novel new forms of art that combined advances in printing, the rise of propaganda imagery, and egalitarian social values.

A Closer Look

The map traces thirty-two voyages of discovery, each cataloged in a table along the bottom border. It provides the dates of voyages, names explorers and the ships involved (if they had names), and identifies destinations. Five additional voyages not represented on the map appear in the table. One such, the voyage of Chevalier de Grenier, was a point of mystery even to the cartographer. (Our cursory research has revealed that the Chevalier de Grenier undertook hydrographic work in the Indian Ocean in 1769 and supposedly determined the position of the Seychelles, Diego Garcia, and other islands.)

Publication History and Census

This map was created and published by L. Bergelin in 1930 with a data provided by the Bibliothèque Nationale and the French Navy. We note a single cataloged example, located at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.