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Description

Rare edition of Sanson's map of the World, with a number of other scientific features.

Double hemisphere world map with six small circular diagrams and windrose, emphasizing the grid of parallels and meridians and other circles, and the climatic zones. California is shown as an island, the continents without political borders or place names. It is only the late editions of the map which include the extra scientific features. This example includes a note at the bottom, stating Chez l'Autheur aux Galleries du Louvre 1703.

Condition Description
Trimmed to plate mark and laid down on a large 18th century sheet of paper, as bound into atlas.
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.