Nicolas Sanson (aka, Sanson d'Abbeville);
1600-1667.
Nicolas Sanson, son; 1626-1648.
Guillaume Sanson, son; c1630-1703.
Adrien Sanson, son; c1630-1708.
Pierre Moulard Sanson, grand son; c1660-1730.
Born of an old Picardy house of Scottish descent, Sanson
was educated by the Jesuits of Amiens.
A trained historian, Sanson branched into cartography to better
illustrate his tutorial works.
Attracting the attention of Cardinal Richelieu, he was soon
appointed "Géographe Ordinaire du Roi".
He was actually educating Louis XIII of France (and then Louis
XIV), in the related matters.
He is most well known for his major atlas "Cartes Générales
de Toutes les Parties du Monde" published in 1654, with several
re-editions (the last one in 1676 was named "Cartes Générales
de la Géographie Anciennes et Nouvelles").
But his call to fame comes from the preparation of a few maps
which proved to be seminal, and influenced generally accepted
continent delineations for many decades to come. Among others:
"Amérique Septentrionale" in 1650 noted for the "Island" California",
"Le Canada ou Nouvelle France" noted for its first accurate
representation of the Great Lakes, and "Le Brésil dont la
Côte est Possédée par les Portugais et Divisée en Quatorze
Capitaineries" (both in 1656).
Upon his death, his successors ran a continued successful
business, in particular thanks to their excellent partnership
with Pierre Duval (his son-in-law), and Alexis Hubert Jaillot.
Both men re-engraved a lot of his plates, and prepared the
unfinished maps he did not have the opportunity to print.
The Sanson dynasty is often credited for planting the seeds
of the golden age of French cartography in competition with
the Dutch school.
L'Amerique
Septentrionale par N. Sanson, d'Abbeville geograph du Roy.
This rare small map (8 15/16" X 6 5/16") is a slightly reduced
version of the 1657 original (itself a derivation of the seminal
1650 map by the same name).
The present item has been printed for the 1721 issue of "Nouvelle
Relation, Contenant les Voyages de Thomas Gage dans la Nouvelle
Espagne,.."
Gage, an Irish Dominican, traveled extensively in north and
central America between 1625 and 1637. In 1676, Gervais Clouziert,
editor in Paris, compiled the traveler's notes and produced
the massive 2 volumes 800 pages 32 illustrations work. Later
printings were made particularly in Holland by Paul Marret
between 1695 and 1724.
Due to its early source, the map was badly antiquated by the
time of its printing.
Witness:
- California is still shown as an island (the insular depiction
first appeared on a 1625 map by Henry Briggs, and was widely
popularized by Sanson..until father Kino established its peninsular
nature in 1705).
- Louisiana and New Orleans are not shown, even though the
territory was claimed for France by Cavelier de le Salle in
1682, and that New Orleans had been established in 1718.
- New Amsterdam is still shown (after the English took over
the Dutch colony in 1664, and they renamed the city in honor
of their commander: the Duke of York, hence New York).
Inexplicably, Puerto Rico is still named Boriquem, the original
indigenous name for the island which Christopher Columbus
renamed San Juan Bautista in 1513.
No text on verso.
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