A beautiful and impressive map of the world drawn by Jean Janvier in 1775. Depicts the entire world on a double hemisphere projection. North America appears with a fair approximation of accuracy though the western and northwestern regions remain either blank or entirely speculative. Alaska is entirely absent, but the Aleutian archipelago does appear in an embryonic form. By contrast the northeast parts of Asia, which had recently been explored by Vitus Bering and Tschirikow, are depicted with a fair approximation of accuracy. Both the apocryphal Terre de Gama and Terre de la Company appear just northeast of Yedso (Hokkaido). In 1729, he sailed for three days looking for Juan de Gama land but never found it. Thought it may be little more than a mis-mapping of Hokkaido or the Japanese Kuriles, Gama or Compagnie remained on maps for about 50 years following Bering's voyages until the explorations of Cook confirmed the Bering findings. South of the equator the shores of Australia or New Holland are speculatively mapped with a dotted line defining the southern edge of the continent. Van Diemen's Land or Tasmania is depicted attached to the mainland. Polynesia is mapped with numerous islands named, but few are the correct size or in the correct place. Hawaii, which had not yet been discovered by Cook, is entirely absent. Many historians argue whether or not Davis Land was actually Eastern Island, but it does seem likely. In South America many of the speculative geographic elements common to earlier maps of the regions, such as El Dorado and Lake Parima, are absent though the Lago de Xarayes does remain. The Xarayes, a corruption of Xaraiés meaning Masters of the River, were an indigenous people occupying what are today parts of Brazil's Matte Grosso and the Pantanal. Drawn by Janvier as plate no. 1 in volume 1 of Jean Lattre's 1775 Atlas Moderne .
