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Description

Nicolas Sanson's mid-17th-century double-page engraved map of Europe. This is a superb example of the 17th-century French school of mapmaking, of which Sanson was a leading practitioner.

The map shows Europe, Iceland, Turkey, and northern Africa in detail, with rivers, major cities, and borders all shown.

The aesthetics of the map are characteristic of Sanson; as the map utilizes attractive typography and a well-engraved cartouche. In this case, it displays a wreath of leaves.

Condition Description
Original hand-color in outline. Minor offsetting. Minor fold toning. Minor damage in southern Germany. Ink stain off Brittany. Trimmed to neatline and backed on a sheet of contemporary paper.
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.