Third state of this seminal chart showing the Dutch discoveries in regard to New Holland and the Indian Ocean, published in Paris by Pierre Du Val, the second printed map to reference the discoveries of the mythical French explorer Gonneville in 1504.
Du Val's map of the Indian Ocean shows the trade routes both to and from the East Indies. Du Val main interest is the lands south and east of India and the East Indies.
Small ships traverse the trade routes to Africa and connect India and Southeast Asia to European commerce. Both areas are heavily labeled and are restricted to the top third of the map. The bottom two-thirds show the vastness of the southern Indian Ocean which is matched by the equal vastness of a huge Southern Continent.
The chart shows the northern coast of this Southern Continent, described as the Land of Parrots and re-introduces the Kingdoms of Psitac, Beach, Lucac, and Maletur. The latter three are place names derived from Marco Polo's travels and Psitac, which is an abbreviated form of Psitacorum, (meaning of parrots).
Psitacorum regio appeared on Mercator's 1541 globe and his 1569 world map in approximately the position Du Val has it. In 1664, the Abbé de Paulmier hatched a plan to convert the citizens of the Southern Continent. To bolster his request for an expedition, Paulmier produced a pamphlet outlining the known geography of the area. To argue that Terra Australis does indeed exist, the Abbe cited the account of a French explorer, Gonneville, who had apparently sailed to a southland in the early sixteenth century. En route to the Spice Islands, Gonneville and his crew were supposedly blown far off course while rounding the Cape of Good Hope. They found themselves in a fertile, inhabited land. In 1504, Gonneville was to have returned to Normandy. If corroborated, Gonneville's landing south of the Cape of Good Hope would claim Terra Australis for France by right of first discovery. The problem was, there was no prior mention of Gonneville before the Abbé's petition (1654) and pamphlet (1664). Nevertheless, Gonneville's "discoveries" in the south Indian Ocean began to be incorporated into maps from as early as 1661 Du Val's is the second to do so. Until James Cook's second expedition in the late-eighteenth century, French efforts at South Seas discovery would continue to focus on the elusive Gonneville's Land.
To the east, the coastline of the southern continent meanders north and abruptly terminates south-west of mainland Australia, with no connection with the western and southern coasts of New Holland. New Holland is further described as Petite Jave. This is another reference to Marco Polo. Polo identified and named Java Minor (Sumatra or Sumbawa) and Java Major (Java).  A scribal error in Book III of Polo's travels, transposed Java Minor as being 1,300 miles south of Java Major. This caused confusion and debate on the part of geographers until the early eighteenth century with some, like Du Val, using the name Java Minor ( Petite Jave) for New Holland and others choosing it for Sumatra, Sumbawa, or Java.
In the interior of the large southern continent are several text boxes describing the three parts of the grand continent referenced in the map: Europe, Asia, and Africa. Each is decorated with a bird: an ostrich for Africa, a peacock for Asia, and an eagle for Europe. Each continent is outlined in terms of its physical and human geography, with Europe described as the most civilized despite being the smallest of the three parts of the Continent.
The cartographer behind this view of the known and unknown world is Pierre Du Val (1619-83). Du Val was born in Abbeville, France. He was the nephew of the well-known geographer and cartographer Nicolas Sanson (1600-1667). After moving to Paris with the encouragement of Louis XIV, he became géographe (ordinaire) du Roi in 1650. After his death in 1683, Du Val's business was carried on by his widow and daughters.
The present example is the first state, with later states issued in 1679 and 1684.
Du Val's map is quite rare and can be found in several formats. The National Library of Australia holds an example in a pair with a second sheet to the east, entitled Amerique Merdionale. We find two examples of the second state of this pairing offered in dealer's catalogues and none at auction in the past 30 years. The map is most commonly found as one of 4 sheets for Du Val's rare Carte Universelle Du Monde Vulgairement Dite La Mappemonde, for which we note 2 examples in dealer catalogs in the past 30 years, only 1 in the rare 1677 state.
Pierre Duval (1618-1683) was a French geographer, cartographer, and publisher who worked in Abbeville and Paris during the 17th century. He was born in Abbeville, in northeast France. Duval was the nephew of the famous cartographer Nicolas Sanson, from whom he learned cartography.
Copperplate engraving.
Original outline colour.
403mm x 580mm. (ruled line).
Good condition.
Rare.