Copper engraving. Outline handcolored with watercolor. Relief shown pictorially
printed in title cartouche in lower left corner:
"carte de l'isle de ceylan par le sr. De l'isle prmier geographe du roy, de l'academie royale des sciences 1722. "
printed beneath title cartouche:
"a paris chez l'auteur sur le quai de l'horloge. "
printed in lower right corner:
"gravé par berey. "
printed in upper right corner is a scale or "echelle" comparing french sea leagues, german leagues and spanish sea leagues. Printed at bottom of scale:
"ph. Buache p. G. D r. De la. R. D. S. Gendre de l'auteur avec priv. Du 30 av. 1745. "
written in brown ink in upper right corner:
"no. 15. "
shows sri lanka as "isle de ceylan". Labels the kingdom of kandy or "royaume de candy" in the center of ceylan. The lower right corner of the island is labeled as "pays ou l'on chasse les elephans". Part of southern india labeled as "royaume de madure" and "coste de la perscherie habitee par les paravas" is shown in the northwest corner of the map. The gulf of bengal is depicted as is the indian ocean. Symbols for cities, mountains, forests, and rivers are present on the map. Numbers indicating water depths are printed around the coastlines. Fruits and plants in cornucopia decorate each side of the title cartouche. Scale: c. A. 1:250,000. Guillaume de l'isle (1675-1726) was a cartographer and the premier geographer to the king in france beginning in 1718. His family played a significant part in the world of french cartography in the eighteenth century. At age 9, he drew his first map and at age 27 he became a member of the académie royale des sciences. He studied under jacques cassini, acquiring knowledge in both mathematics and astronomy. Due to his academic background and his "critical approach to the maps of his predecessors," he became known as the first "scientific cartographer" (moreland and bannister, 132). Among his works are "globe, map of the world and the four continents" (1700), "atlas de géographie" (1700-12), "mississippi" (1701), "carte du mexique et de la floride…" (c. A. 1703), "carte de la louisiane et du mississippi" (1718) and posthumously, "atlas noveau" (1730 and later). Following his death, his widow took up the business with a partner, philippe buache (tooley 395; moreland and bannister, 131-2). This particular map was first drawn by de l'isle in 1723. It was later published by philippe buache in 1745 in "atlas nouveau," almost twenty years after de l'isle's death. Source(s):
moreland, carl and david bannister. "antique maps: a collector's handbook. " new york: longman group, ltd. , 1983. Tooley, ronald vere. "tooley's dictionary of mapmakers. " hertfordshire: map collector publications limited, 1979. Subjects (lcsh): sri lanka--maps--early works to 1800. Date: 1745. Dimensions: height: 41 cm (16.1 in); width: 55 cm (21.6 in). Collection: University of Washington. Carte de L'Isle de Ceylan (MAPS 82)
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