THE FIRST MAP OF THE ENTIRE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. “Melchisedech Thévenot (1620-92) was a traveller and author who collected accounts of voyages. Some authorities also claim that he invented the spirit level in 1666. His ‘Recueil des Voyages’ of 1681 marked the first published account of the voyage of Louis Jolliet (1645-1700) and Jacques Marquette (1637-75). Accompanying it is this engraved map orientated with north to the right. It is the first devoted to the entire Mississippi River” (Burden).

The Comte de Frontenac, was appointed Governor of French Canada in 1672. He quickly realised the personal gains to be made by expanding in the west. “One of the most important Jesuit expeditions approved by Frontenac was undertaken by Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, who were the first Europeans to explore the Upper Mississippi region … In May 1673 they left the mission of St Ignace on the Straits of Mackinac, accompanied by five other people and two canoes. They entered Green Bay (‘Baye des Puans’) and crossed the Fox River and the Wisconsin River (‘R. De Mississing’) portage reaching the Mississippi River at Prairie de Chien on the 17 June … In July they became the first Europeans to sight the mouth of the Missouri … Continuing south they passed the great ox-bow bend in the Mississippi and came across the mouth of another great river, though this time appearing from the east. This was the ‘R. 8ab8quig8’, the Ouabouquigou, or Ohio … They continued as far south as the Arkansas River, beyond which they perceived the risk of capture by the Spanish to be too great, so they turned back. On their return they discovered a new route back to Lake Michigan along the Illinois and Des Plaines Rivers to the portage through the site of present-day Chicago. ‘Lac de Michigami òu Illinois’ is its first mention on a map” (Burden).

“The map itself is found in three states, the first two almost certainly proof, the second containing an erroneous date. Both of these survive in sole examples” (Burden). Provenance: acquired Miami Map Fair 1998; private collection. Boucher (1989) pp. 54-5/ Church (1907) no. 672/ Burden (2007) 540; Cumming, Hillier, Quinn & Williams (1974) pp. 16-17, 35-8, 51-3/ Délégation aux Célébrations Nationales, Naissance de la Louisiane, tricentenaire des découvertes de Cavelier de La Salle, Exhibition catalogue (1982) pp. 34-5/ Donnelly (1968)/ Heidenreich & Dahl (1980) p. 8/ Thwaites (1896-1901) vol. 59 pp. 89, 109-13, 141-3/ Woodward (1978) p. 161.