Maps
World Map (1762)
World Map (1762)
Title: Diversité des Ombres et Diverse Situation des Habitants de la Terre
Designer: Buy de Mornas
Publisher: Louis Charles Desnos, Paris: 1762
Size: 15 1/4 x 21” (38.7 x 53.3 cm) to the plate mark
Description: Double-hemisphere map liberated from a copy of Atlas méthodique et elémentaire de géographie et d'histoire Dédié a Monsieur le Président Hénault. Dark impression. Highlighted with hand-coloring. Blank on reverse. Map shows damp stains in the lower margin. Otherwise, good condition.
The title of maps translates to Diversity of shadows and various Situation of the inhabitants of the Earth. It is meant to show the system of shadows on the Earth depending on the different latitudes and longitude degrees. The text blocks on the left and right (in French) include technical terms describing the people living at different latitudes according to the degree of inclination of the sun’s rays.
The map is printed within a decorative border frame entwined with garlands of leaves and flowers, including surveyor's tools. There's also a mythological figurehead crowned with leaves at the top centre, and the publisher's address at the bottom centre. The decorative borders bound on this copy are found only on maps from the deluxe edition of the atlas.