This is the 1749 French edition Of Henry Ellis' A Voyage to Hudson Bay. Ellis was an English explorer who set out in 1746 to discover a Northwest Passage from Hudson Bay. While his unsuccessful search ended the explorations for a passage via Hudson Bay, his account of the voyage was warmly received by the public and editions were translated into Dutch, German and French. The two volumes contain a total of 9 plates featuring Eskimos and native fauna, as well as a frontispiece map Nouvelle Carte des Parties ou l'on a Cherche le Passage de Nord-Ouest... (17.2 x 6.2"). The simple chart shows Ellis' tracks of his outward exploration and his return. It covers the region of Hudson Bay, the Great Lakes, Labrador, Davis Strait, Greenland and Iceland across to the British Isles. The cartography shows a rather outdated configuration for the Great Lakes, and there is an odd bit of California at the far west of the map. Volume 1 contains 182 pages with the frontispiece map and 3 plates, and volume 2 consists of 319 pages with 6 plates. Hardbound in quarter leather over marbled boards with gilt title and raised bands on spine.

References: Kershaw #438.

Condition: A

Condition code is for the map, plates and text which are clean, bright, and near fine. Spines have small chips at the head and tail and the covers are moderately worn with bumped edges. There is an old library stamp on the title page of each volume.