A superb, detailed sea chart of the Strait of Malacca and the island of Singapore by Jacques Nicolas Bellin. This is an example of the first state before the addition of the formal stamp of the ‘Dépôt de la Marine’ (French Hydrographic Office). The ornate rococo title cartouche lower left identifies the source cartography as being made by Sr. Dauge, a pilot in the service of the Compagnie des Indes, the French East India Company. The chart also includes the present-day site of Kuala Lumpur originally settled in 1857. It is in the region of Mont Parcelor. Further east is the already prospering trading port of Malacca. The island of ‘Pulo ou Isle Panjang’ meaning ‘Long Island’ in Malay is present-day Singapore.Traditional rhumb lines are found along with numerous depth soundings to aid safe navigation through the straits. Indeed, the route of the ‘Oiseau’ through the Malacca Straits in 1687 is recorded. The Straits from an early date provided a more direct route between India and South East Asia. They remain to this day one of the busiest shipping routes in the world. Several coastal profiles are provided along with no less than four longitudinal scales measured from London, Cap Lezard (Cornwall), L’Isle de Fer (Canaries) and Tenerife.Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1703-1772) was one of the most important and prolific French cartographers of the mid-eighteenth century. The Dépôt des Cartes et Plans was founded in 1720 and the following year Bellin began working for them as the first Ingenieur Hydrographe de la Marine and became Royal Hydrographer. With access to the latest navigational reports, he produced a great many maps and charts of excellent quality compiling atlases of sailing charts for military and official use as well as for commercial publication. Rumsey #12059; Sanderson (1971) NMM 210 no. 119.