1815 / 1841 Collin Map of Paris w/ Manuscript of Thiers Wall by Gen. Doguereau

This is a unique c. 1815 Charles-Étienne Collin map of Paris, France, with unique c. 1841 manuscript updates by General Louis Doguereau illustrating the planned fortification of Paris or, as it became known, the Thiers Wall (Enceinte de Thiers), one of the greatest follies of military engineering ever conceived. As head of the École d'Application de l'Artillerie et du Génie, Doguereau was part of the 8-man Commission des Fortifications organized to design the wall in 1840-41.

A Closer Look

This is a meticulously detailed medium-format map of Paris and environs, covering from St. Denis to Villejuif and from St. Cloud to Villiers. Paris dominates the map with a pre-Hausmann street configuration. Expertly executed pen and ink manuscript with watercolor wash illustrates the planned defensive structures, including the wall itself and the surrounding perimeter fortifications, each outlined and named. The manuscript work was likely added to the 1815 map in 1841, when construction on the fortifications, which transformed Parisian urban space, began in earnest.

The 'Embastillement' of Paris

Shocked by the seizure of Paris by foreign enemies during the 1814 Battle of Paris, French King Louis-Philippe (1830 - 1848), conceived of a broad network of walls and forts he believed would make Paris impregnable. The project was met with immediate opposition, some of which claimed that the walls were not defensive but intended to control Parisians in the event of an anti-monarchal rebellion - hence our term embastillement, suggestive of both defense and imprisonment. Nonetheless, under a plan prepared by the Commission des Fortifications and Marshal General Jean-de-Dieu Soult (1759 - 1861), construction began in 1841. The completed fortifications, named the Thiers Wall after the French Prime Minister at the time, Adolphe Thiers (1797 - 1877), were, at enormous expense, completed in 1844. The walls were 33 kilometers long and consisted of 94 bastions, 17 gates, 23 minor road crossings, and 8 railroad gates. By 1919, advancements in military technology made the walls obsolete, leading them to be fully deconstructed by 1929 and replaced with the Boulevard Périphérique.

Provenance: Louis Doguereau

Louis Doguereau's name is handwritten on the verso of the map, which was acquired with several other lesser maps from his estate. Doguereau (July 12, 1777 - August 19, 1856) was a French nobleman, general, and military officer active in the first half of the 19th century. He was born in Dreux, France, the son of Jean Pierre Parfait Doguereau, a master wigmaker. He entered the École de l'Artillerie in 1794, after which he served with valor in the Napoleonic Wars (1803 - 1815). During the Second Restoration (1815 - 1830), he was promoted to General and placed at the head of the École d'Application de l'Artillerie et du Génie. In 1840, he was part of the commission that designed the Thiers Wall, along with Adolphe Billault (1805 - 1863), General Thomas Robert Bugeaud (1784 - 1849), Mathieu de la Redorte, Allard, Liadière, General Odilon Barrot (1791 - 1873), and Bertin (likely Louis-François; 1766 - 1841).

Publication History and Census

This map was engraved and published in 1815 by Charles-Étienne Collin and the Dépôt Général de la Guerre based on military surveys following the July 1815 occupation of Paris following the War of the Seventh Coalition, which finally defeated Napoleon and sent him into exile in St. Helena. The plates for this map survived, and restrikes were issued as late as 1975, that issue representing most surviving copies in institutional collections. The present c. 1815 example features unique manuscript updates likely dating to 1841, reflecting the final plans for the Thiers Wall. The map features remarkable provenance connecting it to General Louis Doguereau, who was involved in the commission that originally planned the wall. As a military engineer at the École d'Application de l'Artillerie et du Génie, it is reasonable that the manuscript annotations and additions are in Doguereau's own hand. Of the original 1815 printing, as here, we see only 2 examples in OCLC: Bibliothèque Nationale de France and Württembergische Landesbibliothek. The present example, with its important manuscript annotation, is unique.