This map went through three separate editions, the first in 1674, another in 1677 and the last, as here, in 1686, by Duval’s wife Marie Desmaretz, and daughters Marie-Angélique and Michelle Duval.

This map plots outbound and inbound marine commercial routes between France and Spain and the East and West Indies. The English and French ships follow a more northern bearing on the Indian Ocean, while the Dutch usually sailed further south. The Atlantic routes were more universal, showing the way to the newly established French and English plantations on the West Indian Islands, as well as the Spanish and Portuguese possessions in South America. Finally, the Pacific shows the Spanish track back and forth between Manila and the west coast of Central America, the route of the famed ‘Manila Galleons’. A key on the upper left corner of the maps differentiates between the outbound and inbound routes.

A number of cartographical features on the present map occur on others of the period, such as the depiction of California as an island. Much of the geography shown on this map was derived from the maps first issued by Duval’s uncle, Nicolas Sanson d'Abbeville, approximately twenty years earlier.

The Sunderland Collection

Pierre Duval’s trade map plotting outbound and inbound marine commercial routes between France and Spain and the East and West Indies. The English and French ships follow northern bearings on the Indian Ocean, while the Dutch usually sailed further south. The Atlantic routes were more universal, showing the way to the newly established French and English plantations on the West Indian Islands, as well as the Spanish and Portuguese possessions in South America. Finally, the Pacific shows the Spanish track back and forth between Manila and the west coast of Central America, the route of the famed ‘Manila Galleons’. A key on the upper left corner of the maps differentiates between the outbound and inbound routes.

The geography of the map is orthodox for the period with salient features such as the island of California, the mythical land of ‘Yesso’ leading to the equally mythical Straits of Anian, and even the antiquated portrayal of the ‘Great Southern Land’, here in an uneasy relationship with recent Dutch discoveries in New Holland or modern Australia. The importance of this map does not lie in its geography, however, but rather in its theme. The title states that it is ‘a map of commerce’.

Pierre Duval was 'Geographer' to King Louis XIV of France when this map was first issued in 1674, which meant that he had greater access to sensitive information than most mapmakers, permission to publish it, and enough commercial gravitas to ensure that this map proved popular.

While printed accounts of the lives of merchants, travellers, and adventurers were popular and widely available (and often include a map showing the specific route described), this map is distinct for its offering of these specific trade routes. Just a few decades prior, battles and wars were fought between European powers and their allies in attempt to monopolise and conceal these routes.

Pierre Duval’s trade map was first published in 1674 and reissued by his daughter, Marie Angélique Duval, in 1686 who took over the business following her father’s death in 1683. She continued to publish maps until at least 1707 before marrying Guillaume de L’Isle, often considered the first scientific geographer and one of France’s great cartographers. After de L’Isle’s death in 1726, Marie Angélique Duval again took over the business, publishing her late-husband’s atlas until the firm could be passed to de L’Isle’s nephew, Philippe Buache.

Duval’s map is notable not so much for its geographical advances or significance but more for being one of the earliest maps specifically marking trade routes to the East and West Indies. This edition published after Duval’s death in 1683. This map went through three separate editions, the first in 1674, another in 1677 and the last, as here, in 1686, by Duval’s wife Marie Desmaretz, and daughters Marie-Angélique and Michelle Duval.

A Universal Trade Map

Carte Universelle du Commerce

Pierre Duval's 'Trade Map'

That is to Say, a Hydrographic Map, in Which the Coasts of the 4 Parts of the World are Described Accurately, with the Navigational Routes to Both the West and East Indies. By P. Du-Val Geographer to the King.

C’est a Dire Carte Hidrographique, ou Sont Exactement Decrites, Les Costes des 4 Parties du Monde, Avecque les Routes pour la Navigation des Indes, Occidentales et Orientales. Par P. Du-Val Geographe Ordinaire du Roi.