Nicolas DE FER (1646-1720).
Partie Meridionale de la Riviere de Missipi, et ses environs, dans l'Amerique Septentrionale. Mis au jour par N. De Fer. Geographe de sa Majeste Catolique 1718.
Copper plate engraving.
Paris, 1718 [Cummings 169C - with Bernard imprint].
21 3/4" x 30 3/8" sheet, 31" x 39 1/2" framed.

The printed version of the most important map of the Mississippi Valley and Gulf of Mexico, prepared in manuscript by De L'Isle (Carte des Environs du Mississippi, 1701) but first published by Nicolas de Fer.

In its 1701 incarnation, the map revealed for the first time the importance of the Missouri River and gave the most accurate mapping of the Mississippi Valley up to that time.

The De L'Isle and De Fer maps cover a vast geographical area extending from Lake Erie to New Mexico. One of its notable features is the delineation of the Carolina trading path from Charles town to la Mobile R and west to the intersection of the Arkansas River with the Mississippi River. In addition, it includes considerable details about Indian settlements along the Red River and Upper Rio Grande. An extremely rare first edition of the De Fer map was published in 1715, this edition appeared in 1718 by J.F.Bernard.