Rigobert Bonne; 1729-1793.

Bonne, a trained mathematician, was appointed Hydrographer to the King. He took over the responsibility of the French hydrographic institute ("Dépôt de la Marine") after the death of Bellin in 1772. He followed in the steps of the french school of cartographic detail and geographic accuracy. As such he produced, often in collaboration with other mapmakers, a large number of sea charts. His name is generally associated with a type of equal area projection he often used after 1757. Of note, his 1776 "Atlas Moderne". But he is most well known for the wealth of maps he prepared for Guillaume Raynal's "Atlas de toutes les parties connues du globe terrestre" (1780), and for Nicolas Desmaret*'s "Atlas Encyclopédique" (1787, re-issued in 1827). " Desmaret: of engineering fame for the first recorded design of a tunnel between France and England in 1751.

Isles de Cuba et de la Jamaïque.

This map (13 5/8" X 9 ¼") was most probably issued in Desmaret's 1787 "Atlas Encyclopedique".
It is derived from an earlier and somewhat smaller version that Bonne had drawn for the 1780 "Atlas de toutes les parties connues du globe terrestre". Its striking character stems from the finely detailed coastlines, for the two main islands, but also for their surrounding archipelagoes of keys and islets. Mountain ranges are also better represented than in preceding maps, and help understand the pattern of rivers.
As a throwback to earlier mapping conventions, Bonne depicts the principal urban centers and missions with a church icon.
Note on top of the map, the longitude is given with respect to Ferro Island (westernmost Canary) as it was then commonly accepted (even though it was usually given east, not west as is the case here). While at the bottom, the longitude is shown west of the Paris meridian.
No text on verso.