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Stock# 68986
Description

A beautiful example of the second edition of Sanson's atlas of Africa, one of the best atlases dedicated to the continent from the 17th century.

The first edition of this atlas was published in 1656 as the third volume in Sanson's series of four atlases of the continents of the world (including Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas). These atlases were Nicholas Sanson's first, and were published between 1648 and 1657.

The maps are identical to those in the first edition (many bearing the date 1656). There is no longer the title dedication to French Superintendent of Finances, Nicolas Fouquet, following his fall from favor.

Maps

  1. Afrique par le Sr. Sanson d'Abbeville...
  2. Royaume de Maroc...
  3. Royaume de Fez...
  4. Partie de Barbarie ou est Le Royaume D'Alger
  5. Partie de Barbarie ou sont les Royaumes de Tunis, et Tripoli...
  6. Royaume et Desert de Barca...
  7. Partie du Biledul Gerid ou sont Tesset, Darha, et Segelmesse, &c.
  8. Egypte divisée en ses Douze Cassilifs...
  9. Afrique ou Libie Ulterieure ou sont Le Saara ou Desert, Le Pays des Negres, La Guinée &c.
  10. La Guinée...
  11. Partie de la Haute Aethiopie...
  12. Le Zanguebar [on sheet with:] Partie du Zanguebar...
  13. Royaume de Congo...
  14. Pays, et Coste des Caffres...
  15. Isle de Madagascar, ou de St. Laurens...
  16. Isles du Cap Verd Coste, et Pays des Negres...
  17. Isles Canaries...
  18. Les Isles de Malte, Goze, &c...
Condition Description
Quarto. 19th- or 20th-century ¼ vellum over marbled paper boards. 18 double-page engraved maps all with contemporary outline hand-color, [2], 96 pages. Complete. (Light dampstain to outside edges of pages 57-66, otherwise a near-perfect copy internally.)
Reference
Pastoureau Sanson IB 1662.
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.