Language

French

Featured Items

A hand-colored woodcut depicts a man with a walking stick. In the background a ship and palm trees are visible. Some text in French is visible.

Le Vrai Portrait du Juif Errant

circa 1820s
Detail of title page shows red and black printed text reading "Oronoko, traduit de l'anglois, de Madame Behn."

Oronoko

Aphra Behn
1745
Detail of a printed map shows decorative elements such a sun, a person carrying arrows, ships and fish at sea, a scale, and a key with text in French at the bottom of the map.

Carte geographique de la Nouvelle France

Samuel de Champlain
1612
Detail of an engraved map shows the direction of flow of the "Golfe de Floride." Other text in French labels nearby landmarks such as "Isles de Bahama.'

The Gulf Stream flowing northwards…

Benjamin Franklin
1778
Detail of a printed atlas shows a full-page map.

Neptune Americo-Septentrional contenant les côtes, les et bancs, les baies, ports, et mouillages,...

Buache de la Neuville
1780
Detail of a pink, orange, and blue colored, engraved map shows islands of Philippines such as "Masbate" and "Ticao." Other details include a line partially labelled "de la Nao para la Nueva Espanna."

Carte Hydrographique & Chorographique des Isles Philippines…

Pedro Murillo Velarde
1760
Detail of a hand colored printed map shows text in French reading "Terre-Neuve," latitude and longitude lines, and labels over other geographical areas.

Carte reduite des bancs et de l'Ile de Terre-Neuve avec les cotes du Golf de St. Laurent et de l'Acadie

[Depot de la Marine]
1784
Detail of a printed book shows text in French that indicate foods such as "Pain Frais" and "Biscuit" with corresponding amounts in ounces.

Composition de la ration des gens de mer

French Admiralty
1785

Related

View of the fort and watchtower or lookout at Cayenne, Guiana. Includes fortifications, ships, boats, dwellings, and barracks.
Fellow's Talk

“Vast Forests of Clove”: Spice Production in French Guiana, 1790-1848

A detail from the "Carte Physique de la Grande Mer"
Collections Up Close

Philippe Buache, “Carte Physique de la Grande Mer ci-devant nommée Mer du Sud ou Pacifique…” from Cartes et tables de la géographie physique ou naturelle: présentées au roi le 15 mai 1757, Paris: 1770

August 30, 2021
Cartouche of the map “La Louisiane…”  made in 1695 by Vincenzo Coronelli
Collections Up Close

Vincenzo Coronelli, “Partie occidentale du Canada ou de la Nouvelle France…” Paris : Chez J.B. Nolin, 1688

June 30, 2021
Guided show-and-tell

Autour du Monde: A Guided Tour

French 18th century text
In House

"Réponse de M. Duchilleau..."

February 15, 2019
19th century botanical guide by auguste de saint-hilaire

Plantes Usuelles des Brasiliens (Paris, 1824)

November 1, 2017
photograph of the spine and first page of la cosmography vniuerselle d'André theuet, a book printed in Paris in 1575

Conserving La cosmographie vniuerselle d'André Theuet

May 1, 2017

See Also

Latin

Slavery and the Slave Trade