1852 Dufour Map of France in Antiquity or Gaul

An uncommon and extremely attractive 1852 map of Gaul or France in ancient Roman times. Covers from the southern part of england (Britannia) to the north of Spain and the Mediterranean. An inset in the lower left corner details 17 provinces under the Roman emperors. Throughout, the map identifies various cities, towns, rivers and assortment of additional topographical details. Gaul was the ancient name of a region of Western europe which comprises of modern day France, Luxembourg, Belgium and Germany west of the Rhine. It also included most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy and parts of Netherland. After the Gallic Wars of 58-51 BC, all of Gaul came under the control of the Romans. It continued to remain under Roman control for almost 500 years before it fell to the Franks in AD 486. The Gallic Wars are believed to have been fought primarily to provide Caesar with wealth and popularity and to boost his political career rather than being a defensive action as described by Caesar. The campaigns are described by Caesar in his book Commentarii de Bello Gallico. The map features a beautiful frame style border. Prepared by A. H. Dufour for publication as plate no. 44 in Maison Basset's 1852 edition of Atlas Illustre Destine a l'enseignement de la Geographie elementaire.

Cartographers

Adolphe Hippolyte Dufour (1795 - 1865), also known as Auguste-Henri Dufour, was a Paris based map and atlas publisher active in the middle to late 19th century. Dufour claimed to be a student of another French cartographer, Emile Lapie. He is known to have worked with numerous other French cartographers, publishers, and engravers of the period including Andriveau-Goujon, Charles Dyonnet, and Duvotenay. His corpus includes numerous maps and atlases, the most striking of which is probably his monumental elephant folio Atlas Universel Physique, Historique et Politique Geographie Ancienne et Moderne. Dufour's student and successor was Alexandre Vuillemin.   Further Details...

Jean Denis Barbie du Bocage (1760 - 1825) and his son Jean-Guillaume Barbie du Bocage (1795 - 1848) were French cartographers and cosmographers active in Paris during late 18th and early 19th centuries. The elder Barbie du Bocage, Jean Denis, was trained as a cartographer and engraver in the workshops of mapmaking legend J. B. B. d'Anville. At some point Jean Denis held the post of Royal Librarian of France and it was through is associations with d'Anville that the d'Anville collection of nearly 9000 maps was acquired by French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The younger Barbie du Bocage, Jean-Guillaume, acquired a position shortly afterwards at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, in time, became its head, with the title of Geographe du Ministere des Affaires Etrangeres.   Further Details...

Source

Barbie du Bocage, J. D., Atlas Illustre Destine a l'Enseignement de la Geographie Elementaire, (Paris: Maison Basset) 1852.    

Condition

Very good. Blank on verso. Minor foxing throughout.