| Method | Copper engraved with hand colour |
| Artist | Brion de la Tour, Louis |
| Published | Par M. Brion. A Paris chés le Sr Desnos Ing Géographe pour les Globes et Sphères, rue S. Jacques au Globe. 1766. |
| Dimensions | 233 x 257 mm |
| Notes |
An ornate eighteenth century French map of Asia, encompassing the whole of eastern Asia from the borders of Persia to the Ryukyu islands off the eastern Chinese coast, with an ornate baroque border printed on a separate plate, published by Desnos for Brion's 'Atlas General, Civil et Ecclesiastique, Methodique et Elementaire pour l'etude de la Geographie et de l'Histoire'. The multiple plate arrangement allowed Desnos to print different editions of his atlases from the same map plates. Some editions, as here, featured paste-down text panels on either side of the map, while others were issued with just a border. The central map shows the various nations and regions of Asia, washed in hand colour. Northern India, and parts of modern day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are labelled Mogol Indostan, China is divided into provinces, and the larger islands of Japan are absent, though Korea is shown correctly as a peninsula. In the top right, a triple milescale shows French Marine, Indian, and Chinese measurements. The title is enclosed in a baroque cartouche. Flanking the map are two columns of French text containing geographical information about the area. The whole is surrounded by one of Brions typically decorative baroque borders, with putti holding foliage garlands and various mapping and measuring implements. Louis Brion de la Tour (c.1743-1803) was a French geographer and mapmaker. Despite his prolific output and Royal connections, details of his life remain relatively obscure. Much of his work was published by Denon, and his son, also Louis, likely worked alongside his father. Louis Charles Desnos (c.1750-1790) was a French publisher, bookseller, and globemaker. Condition: Central vertical fold as issued. Small tears to top and bottom margins. Minor time toning to edges of sheet. Blank on verso. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £450.00 |
| Stock ID | 53448 |