1771 Set of Two Bonne Maps of West Africa

CarteDeLaGuineeSet-bonne-1771
$575.00
Carte de la Guinee contenant les Isles du Cap Verd, le Senegal, la Cote de Guinee proprement dite, les Royaumes de Loango, Congo, Angola, et Benguela avec les Pays voisins autant qu'ils sont connus. / Guinee IIe. Feuille. - Main View
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1771 Set of Two Bonne Maps of West Africa

CarteDeLaGuineeSet-bonne-1771

Stunning maps of the coast of West Africa featuring speculative cartography in the interior.
$575.00

Title


Carte de la Guinee contenant les Isles du Cap Verd, le Senegal, la Cote de Guinee proprement dite, les Royaumes de Loango, Congo, Angola, et Benguela avec les Pays voisins autant qu'ils sont connus. / Guinee IIe. Feuille.
  1771 (dated)     17 / 17.5 x 13 in (0 x 33.02 cm)     1 : 9000000

Description


A set of Rigobert Bonne's beautiful 1771 maps of West Africa printed on two sheets. The maps depict the region from the Cape Verde Islands eastward along the coast of Africa, past the Bight of Benin (Biafara) to Angola, which includes the modern-day countries of Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, and Angola. As with most early maps of Africa, coastal detail on both sheets is astounding, while the mapping of the interior is speculative at best, or more often simply left blank. On the second sheet, evidence of significant Belgian mapping activities throughout the Congo is included, as are the names of numerous African Kingdoms including Anzico, Mujaco, Bembe, Lubolo, Pemba, Dembi, Calbongo, Bake-Bake, Benin. An attempt is made to map the Niger River as it flows through the 'Desert de Seth' or Saghara, but, as is the case with the rest of the cartography of the African interior, the river's course is based almost certainly on speculation.

These two maps were drawn by Rigobert Bonne and published in the 1771 editon of Jean Lattre's Atlas Moderne.

CartographerS


Rigobert Bonne (October 6, 1727 - September 2, 1794) was one of the most important French cartographers of the late 18th century. Bonne was born in Ardennes à Raucourt, France. He taught himself mathematics and by eighteen was a working engineer. During the War of the Austrian Succession (1740 - 1748) he served as a military engineer at Berg-op-Zoom. It the subsequent years Bonne became one of the most respected masters of mathematics, physics, and geography in Paris. In 1773, Bonne succeeded Jacques-Nicolas Bellin as Royal Cartographer to France in the office of the Hydrographer at the Depôt de la Marine. Working in his official capacity, Bonne compiled some of the most detailed and accurate maps of the period - most on an equal-area projection known erroneously as the 'Bonne Projection.' Bonne's work represents an important step in the evolution of the cartographic ideology away from the decorative work of the 17th and early 18th century towards a more scientific and practical aesthetic. While mostly focusing on coastal regions, the work of Bonne is highly regarded for its detail, historical importance, and overall aesthetic appeal. Bonne died of edema in 1794, but his son Charles-Marie Rigobert Bonne continued to publish his work well after his death. More by this mapmaker...


Jean Lattré (170x - 178x) was a Paris based bookseller, engraver, globe maker, calligrapher, and map publisher active in the mid to late 18th century. Lattré published a large corpus of maps, globes, and atlases in conjunction with a number of other important French cartographic figures, including Janvier, Zannoni, Bonne and Delamarche. He is also known to have worked with other European cartographers such as William Faden of London and the Italian cartographer Santini. Map piracy and copyright violations were common in 18th century France. Paris court records indicate that Lattré brought charges against several other period map publishers, including fellow Frenchman Desnos and the Italian map engraver Zannoni, both of whom he accused of copying his work. Lattré likes trained his wife Madame Lattré (né Vérard), as an engraver, as a late 18th century trade card promotes the world of 'Lattré et son Epouse.' Lattré's offices and bookshop were located at 20 rue St. Jaques, Paris, France. Later in life he relocated to Bordeaux. Learn More...

Source


Lattre, Jean, Atlas Moderne ou Collection de Cartes sur Toutes les Parties du Globe Terrestre, c.1778.    

Condition


Very good. Set of two maps printed on two separate sheets. Light wear and toning along original centerfolds. Blank on verso.

References


Rumsey 2612.065. Rumsey 2612.066. Phillips (Atlases) 664. National Maritime Museum, 215.