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Description

Fine 17th-century map of Paris and the surrounding countryside, published by Nicolas Sanson in Paris. The map centers on Paris and extends northwards into Picardie, eastwards into Champagne, southwards into Beauce, and westwards into Normandie.

The map shows cities, forests, rivers, towns, and more. The map includes a simple cartouche decorated with regal symbols including lilies.

Condition Description
Original hand-color. Minor toning around edges. Trimmed to neatline and mounted on a larger sheet of contemporary paper for inclusion in an atlas. Manuscript page number bleed-through in upper left.
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.