Carte du Tong-King

The first printed map of northern Tonkin, drawn by Jean Dominique Etienne Canu in 1781.

Based on Jesuit accounts, the map depicts the territory and cities of the northern reaches of the Đàng Ngoài. These feudal lords governed the deltas of the Red River, the Mã River, and the Cả River. The map is centered on the Gulf of Tonkin; it includes the northern and western coasts of Hainan Island and parts of the present-day coasts of southern China and Vietnam, including an early depiction of the Red River and the mouth of the Cả River, reaching south to Huế (here Kone-hoe), the former capital of Cochinchina. It extends west to Tchely, the capital of Yunnan Province. Numerous population centers and borders are indicated. The map was engraved for inclusion in 1781 in the sixteenth volume of Yves Mathurin Marie Tréaudet de Querboeuf's Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses.

Jean Dominique Étienne Canu (1768–1843) was a French engraver active in Paris from 1780 to approximately 1816. Canu's work focused primarily on fashion plates, portraits, architecture, and natural history. Canu studied with Delaunay, another French engraver. Little is known about his life, and the date of his death remains obscure.

Etching, usual paper folds, in good condition.