Henri Abraham Chatelain; 1684-1743.
Little is known about this Parisian born protestant minister.
A prolific engraver he resided in London (from 1710), then
in The Hague (from 1721) and finally in Amsterdam from 1728.
His only call to fame is for his contribution to the encyclopedic
"Atlas Historique, ou nouvelle introduction a l'histoire,
a la chronologie, et a la geographie... ", with text by Nicholas
Gueudeville. It was issued several times between 1705 and
1721, and then again between 1732 and 1739.
Most of the maps he prepared for this monumental seven volume
work were derived from De L'isle, sometimes seemingly from
deWit. They are characteristically replete with detailed annotations
and explanations, sometimes to the point of showing much more
text than image.
Plan de l'histoire universelle, ou l'on peut voir
les quatre monarchies du monde,...
This large map (17 3/8" X 13 3/16") was designed for the
1705 "Atlas historique".
The printing date of the present item is not known. However,
the single fact that California is shown as an island points
towards an early edition (father Eusebio Kino had established
solidly by 1705 that Baja was a peninsula, not an island).
The surrounding text details the so-called four monarchies,
successively: Assyrian, Persian, Greek and Roman. It also
lists the main States or Nations of the modern world.
On the old world map, border lines show the extent of Alexander's
empire and of the Roman empire. The overall coastal delineation
is poor, Australia is conspicuously absent, Taiwan (Formosa)
is at a wrong latitude.
The inset depicts an amazingly antiquated view of the Americas;
Northwest passage, California island, no great lakes and large
Antarctic continent.
The medallions illustrate the seven wonders of the ancient
world (their locations are indexed on the main map). They
are actually directly derived from the vignettes designed
by Blaeu for his 1606 map of the world. Note: the attached
write up suggest to consult Urbain Chevreau 1686 "Histoire
du monde" to learn more about these wonders.
No text on verso.
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