The Mer de l’Ouest (Sea of the West or Western Sea) appeared on maps for over 150 years. Yet even well-read lovers of antique maps know little of this cartographic myth. The purpose of this work is to address this almost universal lack of knowledge.
This “thumb-drive” work emulates the form of a book, but it is structured as a searchable reference work. The cartobibliography section can be searched or sorted according to criteria set by the reader. For a full explanation of these features, see the %T%PublishersForeword.txt;Publisher's Foreword%%.
The %T%Introduction.txt;Introduction%% presents a general history of this mistaken geography and describes how the concept of a Mer de l'Ouest developed and evolved. It is followed by a %R%_LIST_;cartobibliography%% of maps that, in one way or another, display this myth.
Finally, %T%Appendix1.txt;Appendix A%% presents a translation of Joseph Nicolas De l’Isle’s book, Nouvelles Cartes des Decouvertes De L’Amiral De Fonte. The importance of the information included in De l'Isle's work will become apparent as it is read. This author does not claim to have the expertise to render an exact and literal translation. Rather, the current translation is done in a form intended to maximize information to the reader concerning the events described. It is intended to make the places and events more easily understood by a reader who is not already familiar with the topic.
Attempting to write a book such as this, one quickly develops an awe and respect for those who have written such works in the past. As with their works, every effort has been taken to assure the accuracy of this work’s content. That said, there will be mistakes of omission and commission. When standard references written by giants in this field are discovered to include such errors, the work of an enthusiastic amateur will, of course, do so as well. The author and publisher are eager to correct any errors or omissions found by the reader and would ask that these be brought to our attention by email (mcguirk1492@pol.net or jeremypool@comcast.net). Periodic updates to this work will be available and will incorporate these corrections.
Mention of one area, in particular, is warranted, with regard to possible errors. In transcriptions from the map (titles, imprints, etc.), an attempt was made to faithfully copy accented and non-English characters. The reader should know that inaccuracies in the use of such characters will be found, and sometimes these will be due to the author's failure to correctly transcribe unfamiliar characters. However, the map makers themselves were rather inconsistent in their use of these same characters - even in their mother tongue - and the misuse of such characters may well be consistent with the original text.
Each record in the cartobibliography is broken down into a set of fields or sections. A few comments should be made regarding several of these sections. The first of these is the section titled “Map-Maker.” Through the years standard reference books, as well as map dealers, have been inconsistent with the use of this term. Often a map may have the engraver or the editor of a work listed as the map-maker; other times it will be the cartographer or publisher who is listed. To address this issue and to help researchers find the map they are seeking, the Map-Maker section attempts to include the names of all individuals who are known to have played a part in the creation and publication of a given map.
In the “Title” section, map-titles have been transcribed at length (though not always fully, in the case of very long titles). Line breaks in titles have been indicated with a slash character ("/"). Use of majuscule and minuscule fonts has been reflected, but no attempt has been made to reflect the different type sizes that are frequently found in map titles.
The “Date published” and “Dated” fields generally omit dates for early states of a map which did not yet show a Mer de l'Ouest. These earlier states are, however, described (and dated) in the “Information” section. Because this work is an exploration of the cartographic representation of the Mer de l'Ouest, it seemed appropriate to provide dates that reflect the appearance of this feature on maps.
Two other sections of the cartobibliography require comment as well. These are the sections “Historical Significance” and “Rarity.” Such rankings for individual maps will always be subjective and will vary in the eyes of different individuals. These rankings have been reviewed by persons other than the author, and where discrepancies existed they were modified. Still, these rankings should be viewed as approximations and understood to be subject to individual opinion.
Some aspects of this cartobibliography were more difficult than others. A particular problem of note was documenting maps by Thomas Kitchin. His maps were used in multiple editions of multiple works, often with subtle differences in content or title. The study of this cartographer’s work could be a book unto itself, and references to his work included here just scratch the surface.
References to OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) numbers will be found in the “References” sections for many of the maps. These are “WorldCat” (World Catalogue of Library Collections) reference numbers. Usually these OCLC numbers are only listed for one or two libraries. However, there are often additional libraries with these holdings, and a further search at WorldCat (%W%http://www.worldcat.org;www.worldcat.org%%) will sometimes produce significantly more information for a researcher.
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