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Description

Fine mid-17th Century map of Asia by Nicolas Sanson.

Sanson's map is the first French map to depict new information in Africa, whereas earlier French maps were typically copies of Dutch maps. Further, the publication of this map, along with Sanson's maps of the other continents and regions, signaled the beginning of a growing French competition with the Dutch mapmakers of the seventeenth century.

Sanson's 1657 map of Asia is precise and scientific in its approach to presenting information. Sanson eschewed the tradition of adding decoration, myth and conjecture to fill his maps.

Reference
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.