1701 De Fer Map of Western Africa (Guinea, Benin, Morocco, Tripoli, Canary Islands)
OccidentaleDAfrique-defer-1701
Title
1701 (undated) 9.5 x 13.5 in (24.13 x 34.29 cm) 1 : 16000000
Description
The inland course of the Niger River, a matter that was being actively debated in Europe at the time, is mostly speculative beyond a certain point. De Fer's curiously maps the Niger River which includes a great lake, called Lac de Guarde or Lac de Sigismes formed by the Niger – an embryonic attempt to map the important and unusual Niger Inland Delta. The river, moreover, runs directly eastward rather than correctly to the northeast.
. The lower left quadrant includes a table noting the geographical position of important cities. This map was created by Nicholas De Fer for his 1701 Atlas.
Cartographer
Nicholas de Fer (1646 - 1720) was the son of cartographer Antoine de Fer. He established himself in Paris as an engraver, cartographer, and map publisher. De Fer was a prolific cartographer with over 600 maps and atlases to his credit. De Fer's work, though replete with geographical errors, earned a large following because of its considerable decorative appeal. In the late 17th century, De Fer's fame culminated in his appointment as Geographe de le Dauphin, a position that offered him unprecedented access to the most up to date cartographic information. This was a partner position to another simultaneously held by the more scientific geographer Guillaume Delisle, Premier Geograph de Roi. Despite very different cartographic approaches, Delisle and De Fer seem to have stepped carefully around one another and were rarely publicly at odds. Upon his death in 1720, Nicolas was succeeded by two of his son-in-law, Guillaume Danet and HIS brother Jacques-Francois Danet, and their heirs, who continued to publisher under the De Fer imprint until about 1760.