French Hemisphere of America and Pacific

Moullard-Sanson, ca. 1697 :
Hemisphere Occidental du Globe Terrestre... Excellent. 11.5 x 8 inches. State II according to McLaughlin, with the pagination at the upper left and lower right. $550.

During the final years of the seventeenth century, Moullard-Sanson composed several hemispheres from unusual perspectives. Perhaps the most extraordinary is this map intended to show the Americas and Pacific from the inside of the earth looking out.

California is an island on the 1656 model of the elder Sanson. As was typical at this time, there is the uncommittal suggestion that New Zealand is part of Terra Australis. The Solomon Islands are shown near New Guinea, and with the land of Quiros.