World Map & Atlantis - Carte du monde primitif à l'époque (1780)

Title: Carte du monde primitif à l'époque de la fondation des premiers Empires Connus (Map of the Primitive World at the Time of the Founding of the First Known Empires)

Place of Publication: Paris, France

Year: 1780

Technique: Original hand coloured copper engraving on laid paper

Size (inc. mat): 52 x 67.5 cm Size image: 31 x 52 cm

Professionally matted in acid-free museum quality mat-board, with folds (as issued).

Original copper engraving depicting the world as known in antiquity including the location of Atlantis. This map was published by Delisles de Salles as part of a cosmogonic atlas. The technique used for this print is copper engraving. After an artist made a drawing, an engraver would transfer that image (in reverse) onto a copper plate and would engrave all the details into that plate. After the plate was inked and cleaned, only the grooves of the plate would contain ink. The plate was then put under a press with a piece of hand-laid paper on top. After pressing, the ink from the grooves would be transferred to the paper. These prints would then be bound in books and serve as illustrations for the text.

The Enlightenment was obsessed with questions of 'origins', with scholars examining the beginnings of early societies, the history of early religions, and even spontaneous generation. In the history of the universe, with its complex networks of interdependence, cosmogonies have occupied a special place for philosophers throughout the ages. The present, beautifully printed French atlas appears to be a pedagogical aid issued during the rule of Louis XVI, in an effort to explain such connections.

The use of the term 'Monde Primitif' in the title makes it quite clear that the purpose of the atlas relates to the origin of the world. The map contains interesting theories about the history of the world. It not only depicts the island of Atlantis in the Mediterranean, but also a presumed connection between the Arabian Gulf, the Caspian Sea, and the Black Sea. India is depicted as an island.

Depiction:

Original copper engraving, published by Thomas Cooke around 1770 in London as part of a large encyclopaedia on general knowledge, arts, natural history, and science. The technique used for this print is copper engraving. After an artist made a drawing, an engraver would transfer that image (in reverse) onto a copper plate and engrave all the details into it. After the plate was inked and cleaned, only the grooves of the plate would contain ink. The plate was then put under a press with a piece of hand-laid paper on top. After pressing, the ink from the grooves would be transferred to the paper. These prints would then be bound into books to serve as illustrations for the text.

Especially in the United Kingdom and France during the 18th century, reference works on all topics covering humanity (natural history, architecture, geography, arts and crafts, among others) became popular amongst the wealthy. The Enlightenment saw the rise of the first true 28-volume encyclopaedia by Diderot and d’Alembert. However, Diderot and d’Alembert copied their work mainly from already-published encyclopaedias from the United Kingdom.