Map

Alexandre-Henri Dufour, geographer and cartographer, director of the cartographic project «Plan of Madrid», 28 x 23 centimetres, drawn by Bénard, engraved by Gavard, published by Jules Renouard, bookseller in Paris, Paris, circa 1850.

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Bibliographical reference of century XIX.

Classification: In black and white and French language.

Author: Dufour, Alexandre-Henri.

Denis Martineau Du Plessis, author of the text of the work «Nouvelle Géographie», calcographic engraving on copper plates, printed in black on paper, the general format of the plates being smaller than 19 x 25 centimetres, with folded maps where necessary, 3 volumes, volume I with illustrations 1 to 27, volume II with illustrations 28 to 62, including illustration 30 «Carte dépl. en reg. p.126 : carte de l'Espagne», volume III with illustrations 63 to 91, published by G. Gallet, Amsterdam, circa 1700.

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For the identification of this book and of the map with coats of arms documented below I have used Gallica, the digital library of the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), which publishes all the illustrations of «Nouvelle Géographie», under the reference «Réserve A 200 189». These illustrations come from the Médiathèque du musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac.

This book is an illustrated geographical work edited in 3 volumes; it is composed of explanatory text and a set of maps and plates engraved on copper ~ engraved in intaglio, without signature or explicit attribution of the engravers.

L'Espagne ~ La Spagna

Of this book I own the Italian version of its cartographic illustrations; this concerns the map entitled «L'Espagne», corresponding to volume II, illustration 30, page 126 of the original work, and «La Spagna», corresponding to volume I, page 359 of the Italian edition, with place-names in Italian, which adds details such as, for example, the cardinal points indicated along the sides of the map and similar coats of arms, although engraved by a different hand, etc.

The Italian version of the map was given to me by Dottor Gian Carlo Onida, from Frugarolo, Alessandria, Italy.

The map represents the Iberian Peninsula and, in the original book, is presented as a folded map; in the Italian version the fold line is clearly visible. It shows the hydrographic network, pictorial relief and abundant toponymy, and is flanked by the heraldic shields of the former kingdoms and regions of Spain, including Portugal as a distinct heraldic entity. Political borders are not represented, following a French geographical convention common in cartography of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.

The authorship of the engraving is not indicated either on the plate or in the book. On the antiquarian market this map, in its original version, has been attributed to Daniel de La Feuille (1640–1709), an engraver who moved from France to Amsterdam, the place of publication of this book; therefore this attribution may be considered plausible, although I have not been able to document it conclusively. The engraver of the Italian version is unknown to me.

In later periods, many of these plates were separated from their original volumes and circulated as loose sheets on the antiquarian market. The existence of copies with wide margins, such as mine, also allows one to consider the possibility of independent impressions taken from the original plate, a point that cannot be confirmed with the available documentation.

Curious error

Both in the original French version and in the Italian one, on the shield beneath the legend «L'Espagne» ~ «La Spagna», a shield framed between parallels 37 and 36 and meridians 21 and 22, in the 1^st quarter is the lion and in the 2^nd quarter is the castle, that is, their order appears reversed.

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Bibliographical reference of century XVII.

Classification: In black and white and French language.

The author is Martineau du Plessis, Denis.

The following article cites this bibliographic reference:

• Alfonso X the Wise

External links:

• Illustrations de Nouvelle géographie at the National Library of France.
• Volume II. Carte dépl. en reg. p.126 : carte de l'Espagne at the BnF.

The starship of this video is based on the «Narcissus», the lifeboat of the «Nostromo», designed by Ron Cobb for the film «Alien». The music is «Also sprach Zarathustra», Opus 30, from Richard Strauss, interpreted by Kevin MacLeod.

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Credits:

• Kevin MacLeod is the author of the music.
• Ron Cobb is the designer of the original starship.

Blazon keywords: Quarterly, Sable, Or, One, Letter, Two, Wolf, Passant, In pale, Number, Unicorn, Mullet and Compass rose.

Style keywords: Semi-circular and Freehand.

Classification: Video, Map, Created and Personal.

Bearer: Salmerón Cabañas, Antonio.