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A late state of Nicolas Sanson's engraved map of Bavaria, first published in Paris in 1655 and here from a 1703 reissue. The map shows the region of Bavaria south of the Danube, all the way to the foothills of the Alps near the Swiss border.
The map shows a number of rivers, lakes, mountains, forests, and more. Cities shown include Munich, Ingolstadt, Straubing, Ulm, and going so far north as Nuremberg.
Nicolas Sanson was one of the most important French cartographers of the 17th century, and particularly renowned for his highly accurate and aesthetically simple maps.
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.
![(First state!) [ Bavaria, Swabia, Franconia, etc.] Suevia et Bavaria XI Nova Tabula](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/96563.jpg)
![Monacum [Munich]](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/95806.jpg)
