Jacques Nicolas Bellin; 1703-1772.

A first rank cartographer, Bellin worked for some fifty years at the French hydrographic service (Dépôt de la Marine); which he ran till his death.
In this position he had unequal access to prime cartographic data, often used to further his own private business interests.
He was succeeded at the head of the service by the very talented, and no less prolific, Rigobert Bonne.
His career was mainly devoted to charting and mapping coast lines, harbors, sea lanes. Most of his publications were related to nautical matters: maps for "Histoire générale des Voyages"* between 1747 and his death, "Atlas Maritime" in 1751, "Neptune François" in 1753, "Petit Atlas Maritime" in 1764,. for the benefit of the French Navy, merchantmen, and the public at large.
He is known to have used informations from the best fellow cartographers of his time, to complement the in-land parts of his maps, notably: Guillaume de l'Isle and Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville, often giving them credit. Fame, enormous output and fastidious quality of work, earned him the appointment of "hydrographer to the king" by Louis XV of France. He was also a member of the Royal Society in London.

*A major work published by Antoine François Prévost d'Exile. The first edition in 1747 was already of an encyclopedic size. A major remodeling was done in the mid fifties, incorporating some two hundred new maps (quite a few drawn by Bellin). Later editions, till 1789, incorporated verbatim other authors travel writings (e.g.: Gmelin's "Voyage au Kamchatka par la Sibérie" was incorporated in volume 25 in 1779).

Plan de la Ville de Paita, dans le royaume de Santa Fé.
Plan van de Stad Paita in het Koninkryk Santa Fee.

This minimalist city blocks plan (14 3/8" X 8") by Bellin was prepared for Prevost's "Histoire.".
It is directly derived form a map hand drawn by Admiral George Anson, which appeared in the 1748 Richard Walter's "A voyage round the world".
The present item was prepared in 1754 by engraver Jacob van der Schley for a dutch edition of the "Histoire générale des voyages".
It shows the little settlement of Paita (in present days Peru) which had been established by the Jesuit fathers to export the ground bark of Chichona trees (then the only known source of quinine).
At the end of the war of Jenkin's ear in 1741, Anson landed at Paita and sacked the town (see the dotted line showing the English attackers progress toward the fort). Also note the road leading to the provincial capital of Piura.
No text on verso.