TitleEngraving, Carte des decouvertes au Nord du Japon, Pl. 47 of Atlas du voyage de Lapérouse Date1797About this objectThis print is one among 37 copperplate engravings from the first edition of Atlas du voyage de Lapérouse, published by the Imprimerie de la Republique in 1797. It illustrates the North of Japan as discovered by Dutch ships Kastrikum and Breskens in 1643 and partially explored by Lapérouse’s frigates in 1787. The map on the right charts the coastlines labelled as Jesoga-Sima (now Hokkaido), Staten Eylandt (named after the Dutch States General, now known as Iturup), and Compagnies Landt (named after the Dutch East India Company, now Urup in the Sea of Okhotsk). The chart is accompanied by two inset maps previously published by Swiss naturalist Johan Caspar Scheuchzer (1702-1729) and German naturalist Engelbert Kaempfer (1651-1716), along with a view of Compagnies Landt as observed from ships approaching the island.
The original copperplates of the 1797 atlas accompanying the journal of La Pérouse’s expedition during 1785 and 1788 are now held in the collection of the Musée de la Marine, Paris. They were etched in 1796-1797 based on sketches sent back to France during the expedition.Object No.98.1-1Inscriptions & marksCarte des découvertes au Nord du Japon. Faites en 1643 par les Vaisseaux Hollandais le Kastrikum et le Breskens, comprenant la Terre de Jeso, l’Île des Etats et la Terre de la Compagnie, dont partie a été reconnue en 1787 par les Frégates Françaises la Boussole et l'Astrolabe / Extrait de la Carte publiée par Scheuchzer / Extrait de la Carte de l’Histoire du Japon de Kampfer / Ecrit par Hérault.Place madeFranceSourceLa Perouse MuseumProvenance 1797 – printed as the first edition of Atlas du voyage de Lapérouse, published by the Imprimerie de la Republique;
1974 – found by Mrs Edith Avramoussi in an attic in a house in Paris;
1978 – brought to Australia by Avramoussi;
1998 – donated to the La Perouse Museum by Avramoussi.Credit lineGift of Edith Avramoussi, 1998Acquisition date1998Organisations (Detailed entries)La Perouse Museum (La Perouse, N.S.W.)ThemesEuropean arrivals
Engraving, Carte des decouvertes au Nord du Japon, Pl. 47 of Atlas du voyage de Lapérouse (1797). Randwick City Council, accessed 17/06/2026, https://ourstory.randwick.nsw.gov.au/nodes/view/13845
