AA.VV. - Atlante Geografico e Storico - 1800

GEOGRAPHY, ASTRONOMY AND UNIVERSAL HISTORY IN NAPOLEONIAN FRANCE
40 colored antique geographical maps.
Fascinating French atlas from the first half of the 19th century, conceived as a tool for geographical, historical, and scientific education. The work collects forty engraved and folded plates dedicated to physical and political geography of the world, astronomy, ancient civilizations, and European history. Particularly evocative are the large double-hemisphere world map, the map of the Swiss Confederation, the astronomical plates devoted to the solar system, and the monumental comparative prospect of the mountains and rivers of the globe. The exemplar, though missing the title page, preserves a cartographic apparatus of notable documentary interest and represents a significant testimony to geographical and scientific dissemination in post-Napoleonic Europe.
MARKET VALUE
19th-century French atlases present a stable market among collectors of historical geography, cartography, and the history of science. The presence of folded plates, especially astronomical maps and large comparative prospectuses, constitutes the main element of interest. The absence of the title page reduces commercial value compared to complete copies, but the preservation of much of the cartographic apparatus maintains concrete collecting interest. Comparable specimens generally sell between €400 and €800, with variations determined by the actual number of plates preserved and their state of conservation.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
40 colored antique geographical maps.
Contemporary half-leather binding with gilt title on the spine, marbled boards. Missing title page. The “Table des Cartes de lAtlas” is preserved with a list of forty geographic and historical plates. Numerous engraved maps and folded plates, some with contemporaneous coloring on the borders. Astronomical plates dedicated to the solar system are present, a double-hemisphere world map, maps of Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and the historical regions of the ancient world. A large plate comparing the heights of mountains and the main rivers of the globe. Widespread signs of scholastic use, browning, creases, marginal tears, missing preliminary leaves, ancient pen and ink annotations and doodles on guard sheets. In old books, with a centuries-long history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
French geographical and historical atlas with forty geographical, astronomical and historical plates.
First half of the 19th century.
AA.VV.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
In the early 19th century geography became a fundamental discipline of European education. The political reorganization after the Napoleonic wars, colonial expansion, and the rapid development of the natural sciences fueled a growing demand for didactic tools for teaching universal geography. This atlas perfectly reflects that cultural context, combining physical cartography, political geography, astronomy, and ancient history in a single educational instrument. The plates dedicated to the ancient world, to Palestine, to the Roman Empire, and to Biblical geography also show how geography was then closely tied to the study of history and Sacred Scripture.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
The absence of the title page does not allow for a firm attribution of the work to a specific author or publisher. However, the instructional approach, geographical nomenclature and the index structure indicate a French production intended for secondary or higher education in the first half of the 19th century, in line with the major school atlases published in Paris during the Restoration and the July Monarchy.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
French eighteenth- and nineteenth-century school atlases enjoyed widespread diffusion in schools, colleges, and religious institutions. Numerous reissues and revisions reflected the rapid updating of geographical knowledge and the political transformations of Europe. Due to intensive educational use, many copies that have reached us are incomplete or damaged; the survival of a rich corpus of folded plates is therefore a particularly appreciable element.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Phillips, Atlases: A Catalogue of Maps and Atlases.
Tooley, R. V., Maps and Map-Makers.
Koeman, Atlantes Neerlandici.
Rumsey, David, Historical Map Collection.
BNF – Catalogue Général, sections dedicated to French school atlases of the 19th century.
WorldCat, bibliographic indexes of 19th-century French geographical atlases.
Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division.
British Library, Cartographic Collections.
Université de Paris, historical catalogues of French school geography.