1879 Lombard Map of the Chao Phraya River, Siam (Thailand)

Émile Lombard (1849 - 1883) was a French missionary active in Siam (Thailand) during his brief missionary career. He was born in Bénévent-et-Charbillac, in the French Alps, and in 1868 entered the seminary of the Missions Etrangères de Paris. After training, he left for Siam in 1873. After managing a parish in Bangkok for two years, he began to teach at the seminary there before, in 1878-79, making a journey up the Chao Phraya River to Phitsanulok, meeting scattered communities along the way. Afterwards, he drew a map of the river and its villages, itself a significant advancement on existing European maps of the region. He died shortly afterwards, in 1883, in Bangkok, likely of malaria. More by this mapmaker...

Rose-Joseph Lemercier (June 29, 1803 - 1887) was a French photographer, lithographer, and printer. One of the most important Parisian lithographers of the 19th century, Lemercier was born in Paris into a family of seventeen children. His father was a basket maker, and he even began working as a basket maker at the age of fifteen, but Lemercier was drawn to lithography and printing and soon entered into an apprenticeship with Langlumé, where he worked from 1822 until 1825. After working for a handful of other printers, Lemercier started his own firm in 1828 at 2, rue Pierre Sarrazin with only one printing press. He subsequently moved a few more times before arriving at 57, rue de Seine, where he founded the printing firm Lemercier and Company. He created the firm Lemercier, Bénard and Company in 1837 with Jean François Bénard. Lemercier bought out Bénard's share in the firm in 1843 and, since his two sons died at a young age, he decided to bring his nephew Alfred into the business beginning in 1862, who would progressively take on more and more responsibility in running the firm. Between 1850 and 1870, Lemercier's firm was the largest lithographic company in Paris. The firm began to decline in prestige in the early 1870s, and, after Lemercier's death in 1887, its descent only quickened. It is unclear when the firm closed, but Alfred directed the firm until his death in 1901. Learn More...

Rémy Hausermann (1843 - 1933) was a French map engraver who, among other roles, was the main engraver for the Missions Catholiques de Lyon, allowing him to introduce the geography of areas previously little known or unknown to a European audience. Little is known about his early life and training, but by 1879 he was the Vice President of the Congrès des Sciences géographiques. He was well-known and well-regarded in geographical study circles in the late 19th century, writing school textbooks on the subject and receiving accolades at the 1878 exposition universelle in Paris. Learn More...