Fiandre / Paesi Bassi / Francia - Dunkirk and Mardyck; Nicolas de Fer (1646 – 1720) - Plan des Environs de Dunkerque, et Mardick avec le Nouveau Canal... - 1701-1720

Important and historically significant hydrographic and strategic map of the Franco-Flemish coast near Dunkirk, entitled "Plan des Environs de Dunkerque, et Mardick avec le Nouveau Canal fait pour l'Ecoulement des Eaux du Pays a la Mer...". The work was conceived by the renowned Royal French geographer Nicolas de Fer (1646–1720), engraved with absolute mastery by the Flemish engraver Pieter (Petrus) Starckman (active c. 1680–1730), whose signature "P. Starckman sculp." appears in the lower right corner, and published in Paris around 1716–1717. The plate possesses extraordinary documentary value as it illustrates the monumental hydraulic engineering works undertaken by Louis XIV following the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), which had imposed the demolition of Dunkirk’s historic fortifications on France. The engraving meticulously describes the route of the famous "Nouveau Canal de Mardick," devised to drain inland waters and partially circumvent the geopolitical constraints imposed by the rival Anglo-Dutch powers. The cartography rigorously highlights the coastal dune topography ("Grand fond de la Rade", "Le Banckrack"), the course of the internal canals, the marshy areas, the small nearby rural settlements, the old fort of Mardyck, and the plan of the Dunkirk urban core. In the upper right is placed a detailed explanatory cartouche containing technical considerations on the locks and the graphic scales of the work, accompanied by the plate number 6 stamped on the margin. The sheet is in truly excellent condition, with sharp inking, wonderful freshness of the line, and intact wide margins, representing an indispensable cartographic piece for specialists in naval history, Baroque hydraulics, and fortifications of the era.

Dimensions 26 x 41 cm
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