Bellin was an important maker of charts for the French Depot de la Marine. He was born in Paris in 1703 and educated as an engineer. He produced many important charts and published them individually and in compilations. The Neptune Francais was published in 1753 and the Hydrographie Francaise in 1756. His largest and most comprehensive work is the Petit Atlas Maritime with 581 charts (our copy has 582, including the rare "Carte Reduite des Decouvertes des Russe Entre L'Asie et L'Amerique.") that cover the coasts and important port cities of the known world. The Petit Atlas Maritime is probably the best compilation of plans of maritime towns and harbors of its time. Bellin died in Versailles in 1772. According to Tooley, Bellin issued an earlier version of this atlas in 1763 titled Petit Atlas Francois. The Duc de Choiseul provided financial support for the publication of the atlas. J. Arrivet is listed as engraver on the chart index pages and may also have engraved the charts themselves.