Chart of Port Esperance, Tasmania surveyed by the French expedition commanded by Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux in 1792. This expedition was in search of the French explorer la Perouse who disappeared while exploring the Pacific in 1788. d'Entrecasteaux died on the voyage and with the declaration of the French Republic and the Napoleonic Wars, the surviving commander, Rossel was imprisoned by the British until the Peace of Amiens in 1802. He prepared the papers of the voyage and the charts were published in Atlas du Voyage de Bruny-Dentrecasteaux in 1807.
The charts of southern Tasmania were extremely detailed and were the main influence on English charts into the twentieth century.
Hope Island at the entrance to Port Esperance was initially named  Lahaye in honour of a famous French gardener.
1807
Copperplate engraving.
160 x 350 mm. (Ruled lines).
Segmented from the full page and remargined.
Perforated library stamp.
Later hand-colour.