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Description

Unrecorded Italian edition of Sanson's map of North America (McLaughlin 89, 90). While McLaughlin notes several editions in English and Dutch, there is no mention of a French edition. This example is substantially revised, with entirely Italian nomenclature and different cartographic features, including a second Sanson projection of the California. The Northern coastline about California is completely unique from other editions, Terra Iesso is absent and the configuration of Florida is unique. An interesting unrecorded variant from an Italian geography issued in the latter part of the 17th Century. Our research located an example offered by the Map House of London with a similar title, but an inspection of the illustration showed a very different image, utilizing different type faces and more traditional Sanson cartography. Apparently rare.

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.