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Description

Fine example of Sanson's landmark map of North America. The map is one of the first maps to use the sinusoidal Sanson-Flamstead projection, named after Sanson and John Flamstead, the first Astronomer Royal at the London Observatory. Sanson's map is the first to delineate 5 separate Great Lakes in recognizable fashion. It is also the first map to name Lake Superior and Lake Ontario. The map is based upon the accounts of Father Paul Ragueneau and Jean Nicollet. It includes the first appearance of Montreal on a map and the first reference to N. Suede, the Swedish colony founded in 1638. Nouvelle Amsterdam (New York City) is shown as an island. In the Southwestern US, S. Fe., Navajo, Apache and Taosij, appear for the first time on a map, derived from Fra. Alonso de Benavides explorations. One of the most influential American maps of the 17th Century. An excellent example, in old color, including the cartouche, which rarely appears in color. Burden 294 (state 3, with Lake Ontario shaded); McLaughlin 12.

Nicolas Sanson Biography

Nicholas Sanson (1600-1667) is considered the father of French cartography in its golden age from the mid-seventeenth century to the mid-eighteenth. Over the course of his career he produced over 300 maps; they are known for their clean style and extensive research. Sanson was largely responsible for beginning the shift of cartographic production and excellence from Amsterdam to Paris in the later-seventeenth century.

Sanson was born in Abbeville in Picardy. He made his first map at age twenty, a wall map of ancient Gaul. Upon moving to Paris, he gained the attention of Cardinal Richelieu, who made an introduction of Sanson to King Louis XIII. This led to Sanson's tutoring of the king and the granting of the title ingenieur-geographe du roi

His success can be chalked up to his geographic and research skills, but also to his partnership with Pierre Mariette. Early in his career, Sanson worked primarily with the publisher Melchior Tavernier. Mariette purchased Tavernier’s business in 1644. Sanson worked with Mariette until 1657, when the latter died. Mariette’s son, also Pierre, helped to publish the Cartes générales de toutes les parties du monde (1658), Sanson' atlas and the first French world atlas.