Antique Map of the Environs of Paris with Versailles, 1847
US$754
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1847
Mapmaker / artist
Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
Publisher
Charles Knight and Co., 22 Ludgate Street, London
Technique
Steel Engraving
Coloring
Original hand color
Sheet size
35 × 43 cm (13.8 × 16.9 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14487-1-34
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Handling soiling along all four edges. All four corners complete. Minor edge wear, shallow nicks along the top.
About this sheet
This is an original antique map of the environs of Paris, steel engraved and published in the atlas of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. The map puts Paris inside its new ring of fortifications at the center and takes in the whole ring of country around it, from Saint Germain en Laye and Marly in the west through Versailles, Sceaux and Choisy in the south to Vincennes and Saint Denis in the north and east. The parks of Versailles, Saint Cloud and Fontainebleau road are drawn in detail and the early railway lines run out through open fields. The outline and water coloring is original hand color, applied by the publisher before the sheet was bound into the volume.
This is plate number 198 from the third volume of the atlas of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Plans of Cities, Stars and Index to Places, issued in London by Charles Knight in 1847. The Society's city plans were drawn from the best local surveys the editors could obtain and were corrected for each new edition, which is why they are still used as evidence of what a city looked like. The plate is lettered as engraved by J. and C. Walker.
The Thiers fortifications drawn round the city here had only just been completed and they fixed the limit of Paris until 1920, so this map explains the shape of the modern city. Everything outside that ring, Neuilly, Passy, Montmartre and Belleville, is still a separate commune with fields between. Framed simply in dark wood or a plain gilt frame it suits a study, a hallway or a dining room, and it is a natural gift for anyone with a tie to the place.
Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Handling soiling along all four edges. All four corners complete. Minor edge wear, shallow nicks along the top.
This is an original antique map, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
