Atlas Nouveau, contenant toutes les parties du Monde, ou sont exactement remarqués les empires, monarchies, royaumes, estats, republiques & peuples qui sy [sic.] trouvent à present. Par le Sr. Sanson ... Presenté ... par ... Hubert Iaillot

Book Description

"Paris" [but Amsterdam]: "chez Hubert Jaillot" [but Pierre Mortier], 1692- 1693. 3 volumes, folio. (25 3/4 x 19 3/4 inches). Letterpress title printed in red and black with small engraved vignette, 1 folding letterpress text leaf "Les vies des anciens solitaires...". Hand-coloured engraved title, engraved frontispiece "Table des Cartes" with hand- coloured border surrrounding an onlaid central letterpress panel listing the contents, 94 only (of 100) engraved maps hand-colored in outline (1 folding, 69 double-page), 96 leaves of engraved text only (of 98, each printed recto only). (Lacking map numbers '3' "La Mappe-Monde"; '5' "L'Europe"; '11' " L'Amerique Septentrionale"; '42' "L'Espagne"; '46' "L'Italie"; '66' "Le Cours du Danube"; and 2 engraved text leaves, engraved frontispiece creased and with small tears to creases, 2 maps torn at folds). Contemporary light brown speckled calf, covers with gilt double- fillet border, spines in nine compartments with raised bands, the bands flanked by gilt fillets, red/brown morocco lettering-pieces in the second, third and fourth compartments. A very fine copy, with excellent contemporary hand colouring, of a variant not recorded by the standard bibliographies One of the most important figures in French cartography, Nicolas Sanson initiated the great school of French geographers. Born in Abbeville in 1600, Sanson established his first printing house in Paris in 1638. He soon became geographer to the king, establishing himself as one of the most influential cartographers on the continent. He was succeeded by his sons, Adrien, and Guillaume, and by his son-in-law Pierre Duval, who continued to publish a wealth of maps using Sanson's name. At the close of the seventeenth century, Sanson's plates were purchased by the influential cartographer Alexis Hubert Jaillot, who joined Sanson's heirs in the production of this atlas, which first appeared in 1681 (but with less than half the number of maps here). Jaillot had the elder Sanson's maps redrawn on a larger scale and with fresh embellishments on the finest paper. Pierre (or Pieter) Mortier was born in Amsterdam, but lived and worked in Paris for various cartographical publishers from 1681 to 1685, making the connections and learning the skills that were to stand him in good stead on his return to Amsterdam. He specialised in French books and according to Koeman "His knowledge of modern French cartography led him to copying the maps by Sanson, published by Jaillot". Maps of other cartographers frequently appear bound in this work; this copy contains Herman Moll's "A New Map Containing The Towns, Gentlemens Houses, Villages, and other Remarks Round London". This example seems to be an intermediate issue falling somewhere between Pastoreau 1D (same date on title, with 99 maps and 27 leaves of views and plans, but only 72 engraved text leaves) and Pastoreau 1E (with no views and plans, 99 engraved text leaves , but with 111 maps and 17pp. of letterpress text). Cf. Pastoreau 1 D; Tooley Maps and Map-Makers pp.40-41.

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