An interesting note as to the authenticity and origin of the chart of d'Anville, 1737, appears in the narrative of Adelung, who speaks with a certain air of authority. He says:
"These Beering maps were, after the captain's return, sent from Russia to the King of Poland, who presented them to Mr. du Halde or, rather, to Mr. d'Anville, who made the charts for his work. Du Halde is therefore very correctly informed when he, in the Mémoires de Trevoux (737 pages, 2,389 f.) considers these charts questionable and imagines that they were merely made by d'Anville from Beering's journal."
But further evidence from an unquestionable source is available as to date. The charts in du Halde's "China" were engraved between the years 1729 and 1734, and all but the general maps were completed prior to 1733. The date 1732 is assigned by d'Anville's colleague to the map of Bering's journey. Of these maps it is further said:
"They form what is commonly known as d'Anville's Atlas of China. Nevertheless this geographer did not participate equally in the production of all. The detailed maps (of which the Bering map is one) were furnished by the Jesuits and he only supervised the engraving, but the general charts were entirely the work of d'Anville, who reconstructed and amplified them from all possible sources. They were reproduced at Hague under the title 'New Atlas of China,' etc., by M. d'Anville."
These statements of d'Anville's colleague, M. Barbic du Bocage, are thus verified by du Halde, page lxix:
"Pour les Cartes Générales, nous y avons peu touché & celle du Voyage du Capitaine Beerings paroit sans le moindre changement."
In the Russian atlas, 1745, the explanatory text regarding map 19, whereon appears the extreme northeastern coast of Siberia and the greater part of Kamshatka, runs as follows:
"We have determined the location of these provinces in part by astronomical observations which have been made there, and in part upon certain geographical and hydrographic maps which have been transmitted to us."
So far as Kamshatka and the Bering strait regions go, it is reasonable to believe that this chart, since it was published by the Royal Academy of Sciences, is substantially a reproduction of the map transmitted to the Academy by de l'Isle in 1732, especially as this geographer was employed for about thirteen years in amassing data for the atlas in question.