1835 Bruguière Comparative Chart of the World's Great Waterfalls

Comparative cartography.

A striking c. 1835 comparative chart illustrating the world's most famous waterfalls. The chart, in the 'Tableau Comparatif' model, sets the world's greatest waterfalls, as understood in the early 19th century, in sharp contrast with one another.

A Closer Look

When this chart was issued, the great waterfalls of the African Rift Valley and South America had yet to be discovered by Europeans. Thus, the tallest waterfall in the world is here presented as the Cascade de Gavarnie (422m), located in the Hautes-Pyrénées, France. Other waterfalls noted include the Falls of the Missouri (186m), Niagara Falls (51m), and Switzerland's Staubbach Falls (297m). The artist, Himely, here attempts to represent the falls somewhat as they look in life, although he has them all flowing into a single theoretical basin.

The ' Tasbleau comparatif'

Nineteenth-century tableaux comparatifs brought the world's great mountains, rivers, waterfalls, trees, monuments and buildings together upon a single printed sheet, arranging otherwise distant wonders according to a common scale. Both educational diagrams and spectacles of visual abundance, these comparative charts transformed geography into hierarchy: mountains competed for height, rivers for length and civilizations for architectural grandeur. Their appeal reflected the century's confidence that nature and human achievement could be measured, classified and made comprehensible at a glance. Yet the genre also reveals the limits of that ambition. By removing each wonder from its landscape and culture, the tableau comparatif exchanged context for comparison, reducing the diversity of the world to a carefully ordered procession of superlatives. It is this tension - between genuine curiosity and the desire to master the world through measurement - that gives these charts their enduring intellectual power.

Publication History and Census

This map was compiled by the French mountaineer and geologist Louis Bruguière and drawn by the Swiss painter Sigismond Himely. It was published c. 1835 by the firm of Andriveau-Goujon for in editions of their popular Atlas Classique et Universel..

Cartographers

Louis Bruguière (fl. c. 1820 - 1835) was a French mountaineer and geologist active in Europe in the first half of the 19th century. Bruguière is best known for his geological classification tables for the Alps which he laid out in his famous book, Orographie de l'Europe. He was a friend and correspondent of Alexander von Humboldt. In the 1830s he produced a series of 'Tableau Comparatif' charts for the publisher Andriveau-Goujon.   Further Details...

Sigismond Himely (June 7, 1801 - 1872) was a Swiss painter, viewmaker, acquaint engraver active in Paris during the middle part of the 19th century. Hinley was born in La Neuveville, Bern, Switzerland, but moved to Paris to study painting with Copley Fielding (1787 - 1855) and Jean-Victor Bertin (1775 - 1842). He exhibited in the Paris Salons between 1824 and 1869. He is known for his work engraving aquatints for English watercolorists and his names is associated with numerous historical views, city bird's-eye panoramas, architectural illustrations, and ethnographic images, among them rare illustrations of Asia, Africa, and the Americas.   Further Details...

Eugène Andriveau-Goujon (1832 - 1897) was a map publisher and cartographer active in 19th century Paris. The firm was created in 1825 when Eugène Andriveau married the daughter of map publisher Jean Goujon - thus creating Andriveau-Goujon. Maps by Andriveau-Goujon are often confusing to identify as they can be alternately singed J. Goujon, J. Andriveau, J. Andriveau-Goujon, E. Andriveau-Goujon, or simply Andriveau-Goujon. This refers to the multiple generations of the Andriveau-Goujon dynasty and the tendency to republish older material without updating the imprint. The earliest maps to have the Andriveau-Goujon imprint were released by Jean Andriveau-Goujon. He passed the business to his son Gilbert-Gabriel Andriveau-Goujon, who in 1858 passed to his son, Eugène Andriveau-Goujon, under whose management the firm was most prolific. Andriveau-Goujon published numerous fine pocket maps and atlases throughout the 19th century and often worked with other prominent French cartographers such as Adrien-Hubert Brué (1786 - 1832) and Victor Levasseur (1800 - 1870). The firm's stock was acquired by M. Barrère in 1892, who operated it until c. 1930, when it passed on to P.H. Barrère (presumably his son). In 1933, the firm was merged to become Girard et Barrère and in the post-World War II period operated as Girard, Barrère et Thomas until it was purchased by Cartes Taride in 1974.   Further Details...

Source

Classic and Universal Atlas of Ancient and Modern Geography, (Paris: Andriveau-Goujon) 1835.    

Condition

Very good. Even overall toning. Light foxing and centerfold wear.