This beautiful 1757 hand-colored copperplate engraved map by French cartographer Jacques-Nicolas Bellin features New England, New York and Pennsylvania, extending from Penobscot Bay to Lake Erie and from Lake Ontario to the Chesapeake Bay.  The map identifies geographical features, rivers, trading posts, cities and fortifications.  Many Indian tribes and settlements are also identified.  Issued during the French and Indian War, French villages are identified just west of the Susquehanna River, evidence of the French expansion causing the war.  Sheet size: 9-1/2 x 13-1/2 inches; map size: 8 x 11-1/2 inches.  Printed on laid (chain paper); center fold as issued.  Mint condition.  
 
Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1703 - 1772), was one of the most important cartographers of the 18th century, with a career spanning some 50 years.  Compared to earlier 17th and 18th century cartographic work, Bellin's maps focus on function and accuracy tending.  Unlike many of his contemporaries, Bellin was always careful to cite his references.  Despite his success, he did not always enjoy his work, which is described as "long, unpleasant, and hard".  In addition to numerous maps and charts published during his lifetime, many of Bellin's maps published posthumously with updates.