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Description

This is a nice example of a double hemisphere map of the world based on the work published by one of the most important mapmakers of the second half of the 17th century. The map shows California as an island, the mythical Terre de Iesso, and a remnant of the land bridge that nearly connected North America and Asia in many 16th and early 17th century maps. Many other curious features can be found throughout the map.

New Zealand and Van Diemen's Land start to take shape, but many other guesses in the South Pacific are less accurate. Western Australia (New Holland) can be easily seen, though eastern Australia is a patchwork of large islands. Islands throughout the Pacific appear, and a massive "Island of Fire" appears off the coast of Chile. A massive Terra Incognita appears around the south pole; this would soon disappear from maps before reappearing with the discovery of Antarctica.

This edition of the map closes the Bay of Baffin and shows no hint of a Northwest Passage. Amerique Septentional is extensive, crossing the north pole and nearly reaching "N Zemlya," in the Franz Josef archipelago.

The map is ascribed to Sanson, though we cannot be sure that he was the actual author of this edition. Sanson was the first modern mapmaker to eschew decorative embellishment in favor of a clean and accurate style of map presentation. This became the norm in the 18th century, although he did retain cartographic details which were unsupported by modern observations, such as the myth of California as an Island and the Unknown Southern Continent.

This map most closely resembles Jans Luyts's Mappe-Monde (Shirley 553), though some differences are visible. It is likely, though not certain, that he is the creator of this map.

Reference
Shirley 551 (Corrigenda and Addenda), cf. Shirley 553 for the Luyts map.
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.