The Map & Atlas Museum of La Jolla has added an important new
volume to its collection: the 1588 “Le Voyage de Messire
Francois Drake chevalier.” The book (originally published in
English, French and Latin) is a journal of Sir Francis Drake’s
1585 mission to America. An English privateer (some would say
pirate), Drake was sent west to harass the Spanish as war broke
out between the two countries. Apparently, Drake was extremely
successful, burning cities in what is now Colombia and
destroying a fort in what is now St. Augustine, Florida. The
journal includes several maps of his journey engraved by
Baptista Boazio. “There are six known extant copies of the 1588
‘Voyage’ with the (Map) Museum holding the only copy in a
private collection,” said the museum’s founder, Mike Stone, in a
statement. “Of the six copies, four are in American libraries,
with only the Huntington and the Map Museum of La Jolla owning
copies containing the maps.” Stone founded the Map Museum in
2011 from his own collection of maps, books a