‘In 1692 Pierre Mortier had published a Dutch contrefaçon of the Atlas Nouveau by Alexis-Hubert Jaillot. It was issued in partnership with Pierre Huguetan, a French bookseller resident in Amsterdam, who provided considerable financial backing. Their next project was an edition of Jaillot’s Neptune François, first published in 1693. For this Mortier employed the finest engravers and extended the work with the magnificent Cartes Marines à l’usage du Roy de la Grande Bretagne. It contained only nine charts, eight of which were of British waters. They are engraved by Romain de Hooghe, who was in the employ of William III at the time, and are arguably the most stunning sea charts produced to date.’ (Burden). ‘Few great artists have turned their hands to mapmaking … Romeyn de Hooghe was an exception to the pattern. A celebrated artist from the late seventeenth century, he was responsible for a volume of nine sea charts.’ (Campbell)

This chart centres on the Channel Islands and displays the nearby coast of Normandy. Upper left are views of Granville and Mont Michel in Normandy within an ornate cartouche. Lower right are plans of Honfleur, Cherbourg and Havre de Grace, the major ports on the French coast. The view upper right is allegorical. Campbell (1981) pl. 44; Koeman (1967-70) IV Mor E no. 4; Burden (2007) p. 486.