Nice example of Sanson's first map of the southern part of Portugal.
Nicolas Sanson (1600-67) was an influential cartographer who is described by many authorities as the founder of the French School of Geography. In his early days he was tutor to Louis XIII and after his death in 1667 the business was continued by his three sons, Nicolas, Adrian and Guillaume. Later, his grandson, Pierre Moulard-Sanson and then his nephew, Gilles Robert de Vaugondy, continued the firm until the end of the eighteenth century.
The son of famous French cartographer Nicolas Sanson, Guillaume (1633-1703) carried on his father's work. Like his sire, he was a court geographer to Louis XIV. He often worked in partnership with another prominent cartographer of the time, Hubert Jaillot.