The Encyclopedie was published under the direction of Diderot from 1751 onward with thousands of articles written by the most prominent philosophers and scientists of the time. These great minds collaborated in the goal of assembling and disseminating the fruits of accumulated knowledge and learning. This massive reference work for the arts and sciences, served to propagate Enlightened ideas. Read a full description of this work and Diderot at Wikipedia.com.

This unusual map details the northern coastline of Russia (including Scandinavia), the eastern coast of Asia to below Nanking, and a bit of the coast of America called Anian. Inset into the map are four small maps of the western part of North America: I - Features the entire western coast with Japan just a short distance offshore; II - Focuses on Nova Granada showing the Mexican coast of the Gulf of California; III - Focuses on the Zubgara and Tolm Regnum of Nova Granada and the mythical seven cities of Cibola; and IV - Depicts Anian Regnum including Quivira Regnum and another Tolm Regnum. All together a fascinating view of some of the early cartographic theories concerning the western part of North America.

References: Pedley #406; Wagner (NW) #637, pp. 158-162.

Condition: A

A sharp impression on a bright sheet of watermarked, deckled-edge paper, issued folding. There is light soiling along the edges of the sheet.