Subject: Chacao Channel & Concepcion, Chile
Period: 1744-64 (circa)
Publication:
Color: Hand Color
A. Plano, de la Entrada en el Golfo de Chiloe, y Puerto de Chacao, en las Costas del Mar del Sur..., by Antonio de Ulloa, from Relacion Historica del Viaje a la America Meridional..., dated 1744 (14.8 x 11.3"). This handsome chart of the Chacao Channel appeared in the third volume of Antonio de Ulloa and Jorge Juan's Relacion Historica del Viaje a la America Meridional... (1798), a seminal work on South American geography, culture, and history written by the two scientists after nearly a decade spent exploring the continent. Spaniards Ulloa and Juan were appointed to the French Geodesic Mission to South America. The purpose of the mission was to measure a degree of meridian arc at the equator, and the chosen location for the measurements was Ecuador. The measurements would then be compared with similar measurements made near the North Pole, with the goal of determining the true shape of the earth. The chart shows Pueblo de Chacao and features soundings, anchorages, banks, and inland topographical detail. The channel separates Chiloe Island from the Chilean mainland. Engraved by Paulus Minguet. Reference: Shirley (BL Atlases) G.ULL-1a #10. Condition: Issued folding, now flat, on a sheet with a "M [heart] Boix" watermark. There is light printer's ink residue, some small spots of foxing, and an archivally repaired edge tear in the left blank margin. (B+)
B. Pinco ou Port de la Conception au Chili, by Jacques Nicolas Bellin, from Le Petit Atlas Maritime, published 1764 (6.8 x 8.5"). This elegant chart of the Bay of Concepcion locates the city of Concepcion in its original location near the mouth of the Andalien River. After the devastating earthquake of 1751, the city was relocated to its current location in the Valle de la Mocha. The chart identifies the villages of Tome and Spinosa. Soundings, hazards, and Quiriquina Island are shown in the bay along with rhumblines and a fleur-de-lis. The title is contained in a decorative cartouche. Condition: A nice impression on a sheet with an "Auvergne" watermark and a bit of printer's ink residue. (A)
References:
Condition:
See description above.