Atlantic Neptune

File:(A chart of Boston Bay) (2674893303).jpg, first published in 1775]]

The Atlantic Neptune is a monumental four volume atlas which was the most important collection of maps, charts and views of North America published in the eighteenth century.The Atlantic Neptune Lloyd A. Brown The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography Vol. 67, No. 4 (Oct., 1943), pp. 377-381 Published by: The Historical Society of Pennsylvania It was created by Colonel Joseph Frederick Wallet Des Barres.

File:Spry Harbour to Flemming River RMG K0602.jpg

Des Barres made many maps of the Atlantic, mapping the coast of North America from Newfoundland to New York. His survey of the coast of Nova Scotia took approximately ten years due its length and intricacy. Des Barres was exasperated with the work stating "There is scarcely any known shore so much intersected with Bays, Harbours, and Creeks as this is ... and the Offing of it is so full of Islands, Rocks, and Shoals as are almost innumerable."Jerry Lockett. Captain James Cook in Atlantic Canada. The adventurer & Map Maker's Formative Years. Formac Publishing Company Limited, Halifax, NS. 2011.p. 112. p. 115. The survey work was carried out in the summer and in the winter he would retire to his estate, Castle Frederick, in Falmouth, Nova Scotia to complete his charts and drawings. In 1774 under direction for the British Admiralty, Des Barres compiled and edited his and many others' charts and maps of eastern North America. The completed work Atlantic Neptune was published in 1777, having cost the Admiralty an estimated £100,000.Jerry Lockett. Captain James Cook in Atlantic Canada. The adventurer & Map Maker's Formative Years. Formac Publishing Company Limited, Halifax, NS. 2011.p. 112. p. 187.