Roux, Joseph
Joseph Roux (1725 - 1793) was a hydrographer and purveyor of maritime navigational instruments based in Marseilles. His father, also named Joseph (1682 - 1747), has been trained as a hydrographer, though little is known about his life and work. The elder Joseph established his shop on the waterfront in Marseilles, one of several such shops in the same area. Under Joseph Roux the younger, the shop quickly became renowned for the quality of its manufactures, such as sextants, compasses, and quadrants. Roux also produced flags, nautical charts, and, occasionally, paintings on maritime themes. His skill as a chartmaker was such that he was granted (when exactly is unclear) the title of 'Hydrographe du Roy' before publishing his highly influential 'Carte de la Mer Méditerranée en douze feuilles' in 1764, portions of which were later reissued in the portable Recueil des principaux plans des ports et rades de la mer Méditerranée and in Bellin's Atlas Maritime. Despite these accomplishments, little is known about Roux's life. In 1751, he married Marie-Ursule Demolin; they had one known child, Agne-Joseph Antoine Roux (1765 - 1835), also sometimes listed as Joseph Roux fils early in his career and Antoine Roux père later in his career, to distinguish himself from his own son, Mathieu-Antoine Roux (1799 - 1872). Under Agne-Joseph Antoine Roux, the family shop developed a particular specialty in nautical sketches and paintings that it would maintain for decades, into the late 19th century.
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