1747 La Feuille Map of Brabant ( vicinity of Brussels ), Belgium

Daniel de La Feuille (1640 - 1709) was born of Huguenot stock in Sedan (L'Ardennes), France. As a young man he apprenticed as a watchmaker. In 1663 La Feuille married Charlette Marlet, the daughter of a local carpenter. Twenty years later, in 1683, facing religious prosecution of Huguenots in France, the family fled to Amsterdam. By 1686 Daniel had become a burgher (citizen) of the city and established himself as an engraver, publisher, and art dealer. Not long after, in 1691, he was admitted into the Booksellers Guild. Though we are primarily concerned with his cartographic work here, his masterpiece is considered to be Devises et emblems, a collection of symbols and designs mostly likely intended as templates for silversmiths, engravers, and watchmakers. His cartographic work includes numerous individual maps and atlases, many of which continued to be published and republished well after his death in 1709. He was succeeded by his sons Jacob de la Feuille (1668 - 1719) and Paul de La Feuille (1688 - 1727). More by this mapmaker...

Johannes Ratelband (1715 - 1793) was a European map publisher based in Amsterdam. Ratelband is a rather obscure fellow, but is known to have published a series of European maps and views in association with the La Feuille family. Learn More...