UNITED KINGDOM & IRELAND 1750 ROBERT DE VAUGONDY UNUSUAL ANTIQUE ORIGINAL MAP

Description: Striking and highly detailed interesting copper engraved map of the British Isles during the ancient Romany. Vaugondy's map covers all of modern day England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Several important roads, rivers, lakes, ancient  cities and towns as they existed in antiquity and other topographical features are noted.
 
The map was created by Didier Robert de Vaugondy and Gilles Robert de Vaugondy, with contributions from Nicolas Sanson. This map was published in 1750 and engraved by Guillaume Delahaye.

Composition and Style:
 
This map is an engraved and hand-colored depiction of the British Isles, showcasing classical and historical elements. The hand-colored borders are used to delineate different regions, emphasizing the map's division into major parts and populations according to ancient Roman geographer Ptolemy's perspective. Relief is shown pictorially, giving a sense of the terrain through artistic representation rather than precise topographic features.
 
Significant Features:
 
The map includes an ornamental cartouche in the upper left corner, which contains the title and credits, adding an artistic and formal element typical of the period's cartographic works. The cartouche is intricately designed, reflecting the artistic style of the mid-18th century.
 
The map covers the British Isles, including England, Ireland, and parts of Scotland and Wales. It is bordered by the "Oceanus Occidentalis" (Western Ocean) and "Oceanus Britannicus" (British Ocean), with Latin inscriptions giving a classical touch to the geographical labels.
 
Cultural and Historical Context:
 
This work is representative of the Enlightenment period, where scientific surveys and a renewed interest in classical knowledge influenced cartography. The map is part of one of the first atlases based on scientific surveys, following the traditions of notable cartographers like D'Anville and De L'Isle. This adherence to scientific accuracy and historical scholarship reflects the intellectual currents of the time.
 
Publication Context:
 
The map is part of an atlas that was first issued with five postal maps added later, indicating an ongoing process of updating and refining geographical knowledge. It was reissued until 1799, showing its lasting relevance and utility. The atlas includes a geographical essay and other scholarly elements, enhancing its value as a comprehensive reference work.
 
Medium:
 
As an engraved map, it was printed using a technique that allowed for detailed and precise line work, a common practice for high-quality maps of the time. The hand-coloring added depth and differentiation to the regions, enhancing both its aesthetic appeal and functional clarity.
 
Conclusion:
 
Overall, this map is a fine example of 18th-century cartography, combining artistic elements with scholarly rigor. It serves as both a practical tool for understanding the geography of the British Isles and a historical artifact reflecting the period's cultural and intellectual milieu.

Source: Robert de Vaugondy, G., Atlas Universel, (Paris: Antoine Boudet) 1757.      

The Atlas Universel was the crowning glory of the Robert de Vaugondy firm's atlas production. The atlas was revolutionary on many levels and exemplified the Vaugondy credo commode, complet, univorme, et suive (convenient, complete, uniform, and easy to use). The atlas thus consisted of a wide corpus of maps, both modern and historical, was of moderate height and width, and featured maps of uniform style and structure. They partnered with Antoine Boudet, a shrewd businessman and publisher with whom they had worked previously, to produce the 1752 first edition. To minimize his fiscal risk, Boudet sold the atlas first by subscription using a large prospectus, receiving in the process over 1100 pre-orders. The first edition appeared in 1752 and contained beautifully produced maps with elaborate freshly designed allegorical cartouche work, generally by Pierre-Edme Babel, Pierre Philippe Choffard, and Charles Nicholas Cochin. Most of the maps were engraved by the Delahaye firm, the payment for whose services ultimately ed to legal disputes. Despite proving a popular work of astounding quality, the Atlas Universal received harsh criticism from fellow cartographers, particularly Philippe Buache. Ever at odds with the Vaugondys, Buache's critical perspective may have been influenced more by political maneuvering than academic affront. The atlas was issued in multiple editions between 1752 and 1788. Later editions, issued after 1786, were taken over by Charles Delamarche, who inherited the Robert de Vaugondy firm and assumed Boudet's publication rights.

Date: 1750 ( dated )

Dimension: Paper size approx.: cm 66,2 x 51,1

Condition: Very strong and dark impression on good paper. Paper with chains and wiremarks. Map old original colored. Small foxing and browning. Small tears. Map folded. Conditions are as you can see in the images.   

Mapmakers: Gilles (1688 - 1766) and Didier (c. 1723 - 1786) Robert de Vaugondy were map publishers, engravers, and cartographers active in Paris during the mid-18th century. The father and son team were the inheritors to the important Sanson cartographic firm whose stock supplied much of their initial material. Graduating from Sanson's map's Gilles, and more particularly Didier, began to produce their own substantial corpus of work. Vaugondys were well respected for the detail and accuracy of their maps in which they made excellent use of the considerable resources available in 18th century Paris to produce the most accurate and fantasy-free maps possible. The Vaugondys compiled each map based upon their own superior geographic knowledge, scholarly research, the journals of contemporary explorers and missionaries, and direct astronomical observation - moreover, unlike many cartographers of this period, they commonly took pains to reference their source material. Nevertheless, even in 18th century Paris geographical knowledge was severely limited - especially regarding those unexplored portions of the world, including the poles, the Pacific northwest of America, and the interior of Africa and South America. In these areas the Vaugondys, like their rivals De L'Isle and Buache, must be considered speculative geographers. Speculative geography was a genre of mapmaking that evolved in Europe, particularly Paris, in the middle to late 18th century. Cartographers in this genre would fill in unknown areas on their maps with speculations based upon their vast knowledge of cartography, personal geographical theories, and often dubious primary source material gathered by explorers and navigators. This approach, which attempted to use the known to validate the unknown, naturally engendered many rivalries. Vaugondy's feuds with other cartographers, most specifically Phillipe Buache, resulted in numerous conflicting papers being presented before the Academie des Sciences, of which both were members. The era of speculatively cartography effectively ended with the late 18th century explorations of Captain Cook, Jean Francois de Galaup de La Perouse, and George Vancouver. After Didier died, his maps were acquired by Jean-Baptiste Fortin who in 1787 sold them to Charles-François Delamarche (1740 - 1817). While Delamarche prospered from the Vaugondy maps, he also defrauded Vaugondy's window Marie Louise Rosalie Dangy of her inheritance and may even have killed her.