Antique Maps of France, Sheep and Pig Stock, Vienna Exposition, 1873

About this sheet

This antique map of France shows sheep and pig numbers by department, two statistical livestock maps on one sheet from the album prepared for the Vienna Exposition of 1873. Sheep are shown in orange and pigs in gray, each map shaded by the number of animals per department.

With the horse and cattle sheet these make a complete set of the French livestock returns as the ministry chose to present them at Vienna, and the two sheets are best kept or framed together.

The sheet comes from the folio of maps, plans and drawings that the Direction de l'Agriculture of the French Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce assembled for its own exhibit at the Exposition Universelle held in Vienna in 1873, printed in Paris by the Imprimerie Nationale. The album gathered the statistical cartography, the model state farms, the breed portraits and the prize silver by which France meant to present its agriculture to the world. Its thematic maps belong to the first generation of printed statistical mapping, a field now collected for the history of data visualization quite as much as for the history of farming.

The map is a lithograph printed in color, issued in 1873. The color is printed rather than applied by hand. As a piece of early statistical cartography, this antique map of France suits a study, library, office or country kitchen, and it can be framed on its own or hung as a group with other maps from the album.

The sheet is in good condition, with light age toning, scattered foxing and minor marginal marks. There is slight wear along the left edge, and the colors remain well preserved. The toning is the ordinary result of age rather than damage. Please see the images for a full view of the condition.

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.