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Carte de L'Afrique Francoise Ou Du Senegal Dressée sur un grand nombre de Cartes Manuscrites et d'Itineraires rectifies par diverses Observations Ouvrage Posthume de G. Delisle Premier Geographe du Roy de l'Academie Royale des Sciences Presenté a Sa Majesté Par sat res humble tres Obeissante et tres Fidele Sujete La Veuve Delisle le 18 Avril 1726
Carte de L'Afrique Francoise Ou Du Senegal Dressée sur un grand nombre de Cartes Manuscrites et d'Itineraires rectifies par diverses Observations Ouvrage Posthume de G. Delisle Premier Geographe du Roy de l'Academie Royale des Sciences Presenté a Sa Majesté Par sat res humble tres Obeissante et tres Fidele Sujete La Veuve Delisle le 18 Avril 1726
TitleCarte de L'Afrique Francoise Ou Du Senegal Dressée sur un grand nombre de Cartes Manuscrites et d'Itineraires rectifies par diverses Observations Ouvrage Posthume de G. Delisle Premier Geographe du Roy de l'Academie Royale des Sciences Presenté a Sa Majesté Par sat res humble tres Obeissante et tres Fidele Sujete La Veuve Delisle le 18 Avril 1726
Alternative TitleAfrique Francoise Ou Du Sengal
Detailed view (zoom)http://content.lib.washington.edu/mapsweb/images/Viewer/G8810_1727_L5.html
CartographerL'Isle, Guillaume de, 1675-1726
Century Published18th century
Publication Date1745
PublisherL'Isle, Marie Angelique de d. 1745
Buache, Philippe 1700-1773

Place of PublicationFrance--Paris
Original Source"Atlas de Geographie." L'Isle, Guillaume de. Paris: L'Isle, Marie Angelique de, 1727.
Descriptive NotesCopper engraving handcolored with watercolor.

Some outline color.

Includes two watermarks.

Relief shown pictorially.

Printed in cartouche in upper right corner:
"Carte de L'Afrique Francoise Ou Du Senegal Dressée sur un grand nombre de Cartes Manuscrites et d'Itineraires rectifies par diverses Observations Ouvrage Posthume de G. Delisle Premier Geographe du Roy de l'Academie Royale des Sciences Presenté a Sa Majesté Par sat res humble tres Obeissante et tres Fidele Sujete La Veuve Delisle le 18 Avril 1726."

Printed in lower right corner is a scale comparing French marine leagues, Spanish marine leagues and French land units. Printed within scale cartouche:
"A Paris Chez l'Auteur Sur le Quay de l'Horloge a l'Aigle d'or Avec Privilege de sa Majeste Mars 1727."

Printed above border in upper left corner:
"Ph. Buache P.G. d. R. d. l'A. R. D. S. Gendre de l'Autuer. Avec Privilege du 30 Av. 1745."

Printed along Prime Meridian in bottom left corner:
"Premier Meridien Fixé a l'Isle de Fer Par la declaration du Roy Louis XIII."

Printed in northern region:
"Barbarie Pays Des Maures."

Printed in southern region:
"Partie de la Haute Guinée."

Written in ink in upper right corner:
"No. 9."

Depicts west Africa from the coastline to Timbuktu including the countries of Senegal, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau. Shows the Senegal River, the Gambia River, and the legendary Timbuktu as "Tombut ou Tanboucdou" at 15 degrees north and 15 degrees east. Includes political notes on geography and places including French trading posts in this area of Africa. Shows the mythical "Lac de Sapert" as the source of Gambia River. Plants and a crown surround the title cartouche.

Prime Meridian: Isle de Fer.

Scale c.a. 1:3, 000, 000.
Contextual NotesGuillaume de L'Isle (1675-1726) was a cartographer and the Premier Geographer to the King in France beginning in 1718. His family played a significant part in the world of French cartography in the eighteenth century. At age 9, he drew his first map and at age 27 he became a member of the Académie Royale des Sciences. He studied under Jacques Cassini, acquiring knowledge in both mathematics and astronomy. Due to his academic background and his "critical approach to the maps of his predecessors" he became known as the first "scientific cartographer" (Moreland and Bannister, 132). Among his works are "Globe, map of the world and the four continents" (1700), "Atlas de Géographie" (1700-12), "Mississippi" (1701), "Carte du Mexique et de la Floride…" (c.a. 1703), "Carte de la Louisiane et du Mississippi" (1718) and posthumously, "Atlas Noveau" (1730 and later). Following his death, his widow, Marie Angélique de L'Isle took up the business with a partner, Philippe Buache (Tooley 395; Moreland and Bannister, 131-2).

This particular map was first published in De L'Isle's "Atlas de Geographie" in 1727 by his wife, Marie Angélique de L'Isle. It was later reprinted in 1745 by Philippe Buache, Marie's son-in-law, business partner, and following her death, the inheritor of Guillaume de L'Isle's map plates. The map follows the geographic information known of this part of Africa current to the time period (Betz, 498). For instance, the source of the Gambia River is erroneously shown as a mythical lake, Lac de Sapert. Timbuktu is shown slightly further south of its actual location. The map's emphasis on French claims in Africa is significant as it exemplifies the rupture in Portuguese domination of western Africa. Also of note, the course of the Niger River has been confused with the Senegal River. The map's value lies in its detailed naming of places along the coastline. Its lack of detail beyond the coastline is evidence of the lack of exploration of much of Africa at this time period (Delaney, "To the Mountains of the Moon: Mapping African Exploration, 1541-1880.")

Source(s):

Betz, Richard L. "The Mapping of Africa: A Cartobibliography of Printed Maps of the African Continent to 1700." 't Goy Houten: Hes & de Graaf, 2007.

Delaney, John. "To the Mountains of the Moon: Mapping African Exploration, 1541-1880." Accessed 2 Jan. 2009.

"Moreland, Carl and David Bannister. "Antique Maps: A Collector's Handbook." New York: Longman Group, Ltd., 1983.

Tooley, Ronald Vere. "Tooley's Dictionary of Mapmakers." Hertfordshire: Map Collector Publications Limited, 1979.
LanguageFrench
CategoryMythical places
Location DepictedAfrica, West
Senegal
Gambia
Guinea-Bissau
Subjects (LCSH)Africa, West-Maps-Early works to 1800.
Digital CollectionWorld and Regional Maps, 16th to the 19th centuries
Digital ID NumberMAP140
Ordering InformationFor information about digital reproductions, please email photos@u.washington.edu. Please cite the Digital ID number.
RepositoryUniversity of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division.
Repository CollectionRare Map Collection. G8810 1727 L5 (map uncataloged)
Object TypeMap
Engraving
Physical Description48 x 61 cm.
ConditionContains 2 watermarks. Faint marks from previous engraving evident throughout. Two brown stains at top edge in center. Some red ink marks along top edge. Browning around edges. Has binder's guard.
Digital Reproduction InformationScanned from original map at 600 dpi in TIFF format, resized and enhanced at 400 ppi using Adobe Photoshop, and imported as JPEG2000 using ContentDM's software JPEG2000 Extension. 2008.
ReferencesBetz, 498. Delaney, "Evolution of the Map of Central, East & West Africa" http://libweb5.princeton.edu/visual_materials/maps/websites/africa/maps-central/central.html .
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