Coronelli's Map of West Coast of America

America Settentrionale Colle Nuove Scoperte Sin All Anno 1688. Vincenzo Maria Coronelli (1650-1718). Engraved Map. Venice, 1688. Striking, finely engraved map, notable as one of the early maps to display the Mississippi approximately correctly; the position of the Delta is, of course, too far west. New Mexico corresponds with Coronelli's map of New Mexico. There are a number of historical and descriptive notes on the map including one on California. Coronelli's map of North America, appeared in his Atlante Veneto. The map is cartographically similar to his famous globe of 1688 and richly embellished with a style unique to Coronelli's maps. Coronelli, royal cosmographer of the Republic of Venice, visited Paris in 1681-3, where he had access to court documents including the manuscripts of La Salle. Upon his return to Venice in 1684, he founded a geographical society, which provided funding for his atlas, first published in 1690. Marsili, Archbishop of Bologna, to whom the map was dedicated, was affiliated with this society.