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Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville (1697-1782) was one of the foremost French geographers of the eighteenth century. He carried out rigorous research in order to create his maps, which greatly developed the technical proficiency of mapmaking during his lifetime. His style was also simpler and less ornate than that of many of his predecessors. It was widely adopted by his contemporaries and successors.

The son of a tailor, d’Anville showed cartographic prowess from a young age; his first map, of Ancient Greece, was published when he was only fifteen years old. By twenty-two, he was appointed as one of the King’s géographes ordinaire de roi. He tutored the young Louis XV while in the service to the Crown. However, royal appointment did not pay all the bills, so d’Anville also did some work for the Portuguese Crown from 1724. For example, he helped to fill out Dom João V’s library with geographical works and made maps showing Portugal’s African colonies.  

D’Anville disapproved of merely copying features from other maps, preferring instead to return to the texts upon which those maps were based to make his own depictions. This led him to embrace blank spaces for unknown areas and to reject names which were not supported by other sources. He also amassed a large personal map library and created a network of sources that included Jesuits in China and savants in Brazil. D’Anville’s historical approach to cartography resulted in magnificently detailed, yet modern and academic, maps. For example, his 1743 map of Italy improved upon all previous maps and included a memoir laying out his research and innovations. The geographer also specialized in ancient historical geography.

In 1773, d’Anville was named premier géographe de roi. In 1780, he ceded his considerable library to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be used for as a reference library for diplomats. D’Anville is best known for several maps, including his map of China, first published in 1735, and then included with Du Halde’s history of that country (the Hague, 1737). His map of Africa (1749) was used well into the nineteenth century.

Place/Date:
Paris / 1730
Size:
12 x 8 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
60631op
Place/Date:
Paris / 1771 circa
Size:
18 x 31 inches (binding)
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
66935
Place/Date:
Paris / 1753
Size:
38 x 20 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
87164
Place/Date:
Paris / 1737
Size:
21 x 16.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
57106
Place/Date:
Paris / 1735
Size:
21 x 18 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
95545
Place/Date:
Paris / 1732
Size:
16 x 19 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
95546
Place/Date:
Paris / 1754
Size:
10 x 20.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
100246
Place/Date:
Paris / 1767
Size:
18 x 16 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
100389
Place/Date:
Paris / 1765
Size:
16 x 26.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
100571
Place/Date:
Paris / 1765
Size:
19 x 26.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
100642

Archived

Place/Date:
Paris / 1754
Size:
20.5 x 10 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
2682
Place/Date:
Paris / 1776
Size:
17.5 x 11 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
10169
Place/Date:
Paris / 1753
Size:
39 x 20 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
10427
Place/Date:
Paris / 1756
Size:
28 x 21 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
10443
Place/Date:
Paris / 1765
Size:
26.5 x 16 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
11789
Place/Date:
Paris / 1737
Size:
15 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
13504
Place/Date:
Paris / 1737
Size:
16 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
20523
Place/Date:
Paris / 1762
Size:
20 x 19 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
23542
Place/Date:
Paris / 1737
Size:
21 x 16.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
28835
Place/Date:
Paris / 1765
Size:
18 x 15 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
28358
Place/Date:
Paris / 1767
Size:
18 x 16 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
31176
Place/Date:
Paris / 1762
Size:
20 x 19 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
31243
Place/Date:
Paris / 1764
Size:
24 x 19 inches
Condition:
Stock#:
31629
Place/Date:
Paris / 1737
Size:
15 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
33807
Place/Date:
Paris / 1737
Size:
21 x 16.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
34701