Vietnam, Mekong Delta A. Bry, 1867, Carte de la Vallée du Mekong, levée de Cratieh à Paklaie...

Charting The First Mekong Delta Expedition

This map distils the hydrographic fieldwork carried out during the first portion of France’s celebrated Mekong Exploration Commission.

Dispatched from Saigon in June 1866 under the command of Captain Ernest Doudart de Lagrée, with Lieutenant Francis Garnier, artist-ensign Louis Delaporte, surgeons Joubert and Thorel, and attaché Louis de Carné, the party’s instruction were to determine whether the Mekong could serve as a commercial highway from Cochinchina to the markets of southwestern China.

This map tracks their laborious ascent of roughly 540 Miles of river valley—here plotted from Kratié in eastern Cambodia to Pak Lay in Laos—providing an early overview of the region, as well as principal settlements such as Bassac (Stung Treng), Khong, Khemmarat, and Ubôn. A note explains that depths between Kratié and Khong were taken at near-flood stage, then reduced to the low-water datum of the Bassac on 25 October 1866, reflecting the expedition’s concern with year-round navigability.

Beyond its hydrography, the map hints at the expedition’s broader discoveries and hardships. Dotted side routes trace reconnaissances into the Annamite hinterland by river, while the lightly hatched Massif montagneux de Phu Luang foreshadows the formidable gorge country the party would soon encounter farther north.

By the time the survey reached Pak Lay in April 1867, Doudart de Lagrée was gravely ill; he would succumb the following year in Yunnan, leaving Garnier to carry the mission on to Shanghai. Their final verdict—that cataracts above Kratié rendered the Mekong impractical as a trade artery—redirected French strategic interest toward the Red River, yet the wealth of cartographic and ethnographic data gathered en route, first issued for Vice-Admiral de La Grandière in 1867 and later popularized in Garnier’s 1873 narrative, laid an enduring scientific foundation for France’s expansion in Indochina.

Excellent condition, folds as published, ample margins. Clean print.

Image 31x26,5cm, page 35x30,5cm