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This richly detailed and visually ornate map of London and England was published in 1717 by Henri Abraham Chatelain, a prominent Huguenot cartographer and compiler of the 7 volume Atlas Historique. The map integrates cartographic, allegorical, and textual elements to convey a comprehensive visual and textual account of the civil governance of England and its capital, London, during the early 18th century.
At the center top of the sheet is a map of England and Wales, delineating the counties and major towns under civil jurisdiction. To the south, beneath this national map, appears a large, detailed street plan of London, colored in red and green to distinguish built-up areas and open land along the Thames River. Major streets and landmarks are shown, though in schematic form. The urban map is labeled Plan de la Ville de Londres et Diverses Remarques sur Cette Ville, reflecting the importance of the capital in the administration of the kingdom.
Surrounding these two maps are allegorical engravings and extensive explanatory texts. At the upper corners, elaborate hand-colored vignettes present personifications of Liberty, Justice, and Commerce. These allegories are accompanied by long textual "Explication des Emblèmes," interpreting their symbolic significance. The lower half of the sheet contains dense columns of text titled Remarques sur le Gouvernement Civil, providing a didactic overview of the structure of English civil governance, including the Council of State, Chancery, Court of Exchequer, Justices of the Peace, Sheriffs, and particular privileges of English cities.
Henri Abraham Chatelain (1684-1743) was a Huguenot pastor of Parisian origins. Chatelain proved a successful businessman, creating lucrative networks in London, The Hague, and then Amsterdam. He is most well known for the Atlas Historique, published in seven volumes between 1705 and 1720. This encyclopedic work was devoted to the history and genealogy of the continents, discussing such topics as geography, cosmography, topography, heraldry, and ethnography. Published thanks to a partnership between Henri, his father, Zacharie, and his younger brother, also Zacharie, the text was contributed to by Nicolas Gueudeville, a French geographer. The maps were by Henri, largely after the work of Guillaume Delisle, and they offered the general reader a window into the emerging world of the eighteenth century.
