1937 Clement Serveau Pictorial / Historical Map of Paris w/City Walls

Pictorial history of the walls of Paris.

A curious 1937 pictorial map of Paris by Roger Lacourière and Henri Clément Serveau. It highlights the city's evolution by way of tracing the development of its walls over the centuries.

A Closer Look

Coverage roughly corresponds to the modern borders of Paris, nearly a circle with two flanking parks: the Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes. The map highlights five iterations of Paris's defensive walls. From the inner to the outer rings:

1. The Wall of Philip II Augustus (1180-1215):The first comprehensive stone wall built around Paris by King Philip II (Philippe Auguste).It enclosed both the Right and Left Banks, protecting roughly 253 hectares, with 77 towers and major gates such as the Porte Saint-Denis and Porte Saint-Antoine.
2. The Wall of Charles V (1356-1383):Constructed during the Hundred Years' War to protect the expanding Right Bank. It extended westward beyond the previous wall, incorporating the Marais and the Louvre (then a fortress), with bastions and fortified moats fed by the Seine.
3. The Wall of Louis XIII (1633-1636):Replacing Charles V's decayed defenses, this wall followed roughly the same northern line but used more modern bastioned fortifications influenced by Italian engineers. Its purpose was both military and fiscal, allowing for control of goods entering the city.
4. The Farmers-General Wall (1784-1791):Built under Louis XVI, not for defense but to enforce customs duties (octroi) on goods entering Paris. Designed by architect Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, it was a tax wall rather than a military one, featuring ornate tollhouses (*barrières*).
5. The Thiers Fortifications (1841-1845):Ordered by King Louis-Philippe and named for Prime Minister Adolphe Thiers. This massive modern ring of walls, ditches, and forts encircled the city over 33 km, enclosing about 7,800 hectares. It included 94 bastions and 16 detached forts, forming the last great defensive wall of Paris.

The map is surrounded by illustrations and explanatory text on the history of the city, including drawings tracing the evolution of its coat of arms. The ship in the coat of arms originally was the seal of the Marchands de l'eau, a commercial guild that received royal permission to trade on the Seine in the 12th century. In the 1850s, the motto 'Fluctuat nec mergitur' (roughly, 'rocked by the waves but not sunken') was added, an apt choice as the city's subsequent history was quite turbulent, including the Paris Commune, the threat of invasion in World War I (1914 - 1918), occupation during World War II (1939 - 1945), and mass demonstrations in 1968.

Stylistically, the map makers borrow motifs from 18h and 19th century maps such as winheads and vignettte illustrations, though applies them in a dense college more typcial of the 20th century. Though made in the era of modern lithographic printing, it was printed from an engraved plate and hand-colored - a laborious and time-intensive process uncommon in the second half of the 20th century.

Publication History and Census

This map was made by Roger Lacourière and Henri Clément Serveau in 1937, and was likely based on a large mural of the same title by Clément Serveau that was displayed at the Musée Carnavalet. The present map is not cataloged in the OCLC, but is held by the Musée Carnavalet. Lacourière and Clément Serveau only produced 150 prints of this map, making its appearance on the market a rare and special occasion.

Cartographers

Henri Clément Serveau (June 29, 1886 - July 8, 1972), often simply as Clément-Serveau, was a prominent 20th century French artist and engraver. He studied at the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs and the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts under Luc-Olivier Merson, through whom he had the opportunity to design French banknotes. He quickly gained wide recognition, displaying his art at multiple esteemed salons. Experimenting with multiple styles and techniques, he was a prolific book illustrator in the years following the Great War, often employing woodblock printing. Later, he developed grand frescos and murals for artistic and technical exhibitions.   Further Details...

Roger Lacourière (November 19, 1892 - August 17, 1967) was a French printmaker and engraver best known for his work with Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. Lacourière founded Éditions de la Roseraie in 1923 for publishing illustrated books, under the artistic direction of Édouard Chimot (1880 - 1959), and then in 1929 founded the printmaker Atelier Lacourière, which, upon his retirement, was taken over by his master printer Jacques Frélaut and became known as Atelier Lacourière-Frélaut. The firm closed in 2008, but Lacourière and his team have been recognized as among the most important French printmakers of the 20th century. Many of the most prominent French illustrators and engravers of the late 20th century worked there are one time. Lacourière was known for experimenting with the medium of intaglio printing, trying different materials and chemicals to produce new effects.   Further Details...

Condition

Very good.