Composite Atlas. 1700-1745

Used; Like New/Used; Like New. Atlas folio, 17 x 22 inches [42 x 55 cm], including 95 double-page maps, some folding, by Delisle dated between 1700-1745, most hand-colored in outline and with watercolor detailing. Without any preliminaries, title, or index (as issued), this atlas having been made to individual order from stocks of maps held by the publisher. With the maps numbered sequentially and titled in a contemporary hand on the front-facing right blanks, lacking numbers 14,17, 34 and 49 (not present in hand-numbered sequence).  The maps from no. 1 to 83 make up a regular atlas of the contemporary (i.e. 18th-century) world, while the maps of the last section are of a historical nature (e.g. no. 84 "Table of the Earth as known to the ancients").  In generally fine condition, with printing and colors generally clean and fresh throughout. Plates folded and tipped down on stubs, with sewing generally strong.  Moderate staining on some plates, creases along folds, some with tears or old paper reinforcement to versos of creasefolds, a few maps with edges defective and frayed, edges uneven with some plates overhanging slightly, occasional light soiling and spotting.  Bound in rich brown calf-skin mottled with black, beautifully rebacked, built up and restored, spine with eight raised bands, original gilt-tooled compartments (some losses to head and tail and first panels) and later leather title label in red goatskin. 
A FINE COMPOSITE ATLAS BY ONE OF THE GREATEST FRENCH CARTOGRAPHERS of the time of Louis XIV. Delisle was renowned for the precision of his maps and the veracity he demanded of the information they were to include. DeLisle is important as the first "scientific" cartographer who incorporated the most current information on exploration and topography into his maps. His maps of America contain many innovations: discarding the fallacy of California as an island, first naming of Texas, first correct delineation of the Mississippi Valley, and first correct longitudes of America.  Lloyd Brown states that DeLisle "undertook a complete reform of a system of geography that had been in force since the second century, and by the time he was twenty five he had very nearly accomplished his purpose."  
Delisle produced a number of these composite atlases, a practice continued after Buache married DeLisle's daughter in 1720 and was himself a geographer and publisher who reissued maps of DeLisle and Jaillot. According to an included 1983 letter from the British Library, the present collection is comparable to the 1763 copy recorded in Phillip's List of Geographical Atlases in the Library of Congress and the 1755 edition in the British Library at Maps 37.f.17.  Most notably, the present atlas contains a number of important maps of the Americas: 'Hemisphere septentrionale' (1714); Carte de la Louisiane et du cours du Mississippi (1718); 'Carte du Canada ou de la nouvelle France' (1703); 'Carte du Mexique et de la Floride' and 'Carte du la terre ferme du Peron du Brazil, du Pays Amazones' (both 1703). A complete list of the maps is available upon request. 
1. Mappemonde a l'usage du Roy. Par Guillaume Delisle Premier Geographe de S.M. Paris: Chez Delisle...Sur le Quay de l'Horloge, 15 Avril 1720. 2. Hémisphère Oriental . 15 Septembre 1724. Paris: Chez l'Auteur le Sieur Delisle sur le Quay de l'Horloge.3. Hémisphère Occidental. 15 Septembre 1724. Paris: Chez l'Auteur le Sieur Delisle sur le Quay de l'Horloge.4. Hémisphère Septentrional. Juillet 1714. Paris: Chez l'Auteur...sur le Quay de l'Horloge.5. Hémisphère Meridional. Juillet 1714. Paris: Chez l'Auteur...sur le Quay de l'Horloge.6. L'Italie. MDCC [1700].  Paris: Chez l'Auteur sur le Quay de l'Horloge. Gravé par Berey.7. Carte d'Europe. May 1724.  Paris: Chez l'Auteur sur le Quay de l'Horloge. 8. Les Isles Britanniques. Paris: Chez l'Auteur sur le Quay de l'Horloge a l'Aigle d'or. Gravé par Liebaux. Avec priv. du 30 Av. 1745. 9. Carte des Couronnes du Nord. Paris: Chez l'Auteur sur le Quay de l'Horloge. [1706?]10. Carte des Couronnes du Nord. [Paris: Chez l'Auteur sur le Quay de l'Horloge. [1706?]]. Gravé par Liebaux le fils.11. Royaume de Danemarc. Octobre 1710.  Paris: Chez l'Auteur sur le Quay de l'Horloge.12. Moscovie. 1706. Paris: Chez l'Auteur sur le Quay de l'Horloge.13. Moscovie14. --------------15. France 1746 (30 Avril 1745) Buache (orig. de l'Isle 1721)16. Prévosté et Vicomté de Paris Avril 1711 des Rosiers fecit17. ----------------------------------18. Coupe de la Ville de Paris Aoust 1742 Buache Desbruslins sculpsit19. Diocèse de Beauvais Juin 1710 chez l'Auteur Q d'H20. Diocèse de Seulis 28 Aout 1709 chez l'Auteur Q d'H21. Carte d'Artois Juill. 1711 Derosier sculp.22. Partie Meridionale de Picardie 11 Juillet 1712 des Rosiers fec. chez l'Aut, etc.23. Carte de la Champagne et des Pays Voisins 15 Mars 1713 chez l'Auteur Q de l'H24. Partie Meridionale de Champagne Aoust 1713 chez l'Auteur Q de l'H25. Normandie 30 Avril 1745 Buache26. Maine et Perche 25 Mai 1719 chez l'Auteur27. Anjou et Touraine 30 Avril 1745 Buache28. Beauce du Gatinois de la Sologne -Orléans 6 Mars 1718 Buache29. Bourgogne Sept[ent]rional Desrosiers chez de l'Isle30. Bourgogne Meridional 1709 Desrosiers31. Bourdelois de Perigord 1714 chez l'Auteur32. Bearn de la Bigorre de l'Armagnac Aout 1712 chez l'Auteur33. Diocèse de Beziers34. -----------------------------------35. Provence Oct.1715 Derozier36. Provinces Unies des Pays-Bas 1702 chez l'Auteur Liébaux37. Pays des Catholiques MDCCII chez l'Auteur Liébaux38. Flandre MDCCII chez l'Auteur Liébaux, le fils39. Brabant 1705 / 30 Avril 1745 Buache chez l'Auteur Liébaux40. Hainhaut de Namur et de Cambresis 1706 Desrosiers41. L'Allemagne 1701 chez l'Auteur, Liébaux42. Cours du Rhin 30 Avril 1745 1704 Buache chez l'Auteur43. Cours du Rhin 30 Avril 1745 Buache44. Cours du Rhin 1704 Buache45. Partie Sept[ent]rionale de la Souabe 1704 30 Av 1745 Buache46. Partie Meridionale de la Souabe 1704 30 Av 1745 Buache47. Suisse Aout 1713 chez l'Auteur48. Neuchatel Liébaux le fils49. ------------- 1703 Buache50. Pologne 174551. Espagne 1701 chez l'Auteur52. Piemont + Monserrat 170753. Partie Meridionale de Piemont + Monserrat 1707 Desrosiers54. Sicile (Malte) Aout 1717 Buache chez l'Auteur55. Hongrie Liébaux le fils56. Hongrie, Transilvanie, Croatie + Slavonie 20 May 1717 chez l'Auteur57. Grèce Sept. 1707 chez l'Auteur58. Asie Juin 1723 chez l'Auteur59. Turquie, Arabie, Perse H. van Loon Sculpsit60. Carte Marine de la Mer Caspiene 1721 chez le S[ieu]r de l'Isle61. Carte de Perse sur la Mer Caspiene et Partie de Celles de Tartarie62. Mer Caspiene 15 Aout 1723 Marin sculpsit chez le Sr de l'Isle63. Perse Dec 1724 Starckman64. Tartarie 1706 des Rosiers65. des Indes + de la Chine 1705 (?)66. Malabar et Coromandel 1723 Marin sculpsit67. Ceylon 1722 gravé par Berey68. Afrique 172269. Bastarie, Nigritie, Guinée Aout 170770. Senégal 18 Avril 1726 (Mars 1727) présenté par la Veuve de l'Isle71. Egypte, Nubie, Abissinie Nov 1707 Desrosiers72. Congo, Cafres Janvier 170873. Amérique 172374. Canada (Nouvelle France) 170375. Louisiane, Cours du Mississipi Juin 171876. Mexique, Floride 1703 C. Simonneau fecit77. Golfe du Mexique  Terre Ferme Caraibe Auteur?78. St. Domingue 1725 Marin sculpsit79. Antilles Juillet 1717 Buache80. Martinique Buache Delahaye sculpsit81. Peron Bresil, Pays des Amazones 170382. Océan entre Afrique et Amérique Sept. 1737 Buache Q. Mégisserie83. Paraguay. Chili 1703 Liébaux, le fils C. Simmonneau84. Orbis Veteribus Noti Tabula Nova Sept MDCCXIV Buache85. Theatrum Historicum (Europe, Afrique du Nord). 1705 des Rosiers86. Theatrum Historicum (Mer Noir Perse) 1705 des Rosiers87. Retraite des Dix Mille MDCCXXIII88. In Notitiam Ecclesiasticam Africa Tabula Geographica 1700 J.B. Liébaux89. Graecia Pars Sept[ent]rionales Mart 170890. Graecia Pars Meridionales (Graecia Antiqua) Oct 17 170791. Tabula Italie Antiquae Aug 26 MDCCXV92. Regionum Italiae Mediarum Tabula Geographica Apr 171193. Siciliae Antiquae Dec 171494. Alexandri Magni Imperium95. Civitas Leucorum (Diocèse de Toul) Avril 1707 Buache96. Tabula Delphinatus 1710 (1 Jan 1711)97. Orbis Romani Imperii Orientalis98. [same]99. Tabula Geographica Provinciarum et Urbium MDCCXV
Of particular note in the present atlas are the maps of the Mississippi and of Canada. The Carte de la Louisiane et du cours du Mississippi (1718), which Taliaferro calls ​"one of the most significant maps of America ever made," covers the territory from the Hudson River in the east and the Rio Grande in the west, and among its many distinctions, provides a relatively accurate depiction of the watershed of the Mississippi, and is the first to use the name Texas. As one of the most important and influential maps of the 18th Century, this map is considered to be the main source of all subsequent maps of the Mississippi and the Western regions of the United States. The present example is further of note as being the second issue,  with the name "New Orleans" added and thus the first ever map to show the name New Orleans, being seen on the  inset map in the lower right corner bearing the title Carte Particuliere des Embouchures de la Rivie. S. Louis et de la Mobile ["Special Map of the Mouths of the St. Louis and Mobile Rivers"] shows the coastline spanning from the mouth of the Mississippi to Pensacola, Florida. The map indicates the locations of major settlements, forts, and topographical features, and includes the land routes of major explorers such as de Soto, Moscoso, La Salle, de Leon, and St. Denis, along with the dates of their expeditions.
Because he was Royal Geographer to the King of France, Delisle's maps were regarded as quasi-official documents that reflected the opinions and policies of the French government. Controversially, Delisle blatantly included Florida within the boundaries of French-controlled Louisiana and showed decreased British territorial holdings along the Atlantic coast. Additionally, the map labels Carolina after its "namesake" King Charles IX of France (1550-1574): ainsi nommez en l'honneur de Charles 9. Par les François qui la decouvirent en prirent possession et si etablirent ["so named in honor of Charles the 9th. By the French who discovered it, took possession of it, and so established"]. In reality, the British were the first Europeans to arrive in the Carolinas, naming the region after their King Charles II (1630-1685). These slights sparked political outrage, prompting the British and Spanish governments to issue their own maps in order to correct such egregious territorial claims.
Delisle also alludes to considerable conflict involving Native peoples. A legend beneath the map explains various symbols used to indicate Habitations des Indiens [Indian Dwellings], Nations derangées [disturbed (displaced) Nations], and Nations detruites [destroyed Nations]. Additionally, a broad swath of text along the Texas coast reads Indiens errands et Antropophages: "Wandering Indians and Cannibals." No doubt the European explorers who had crossed these lands would have seemed incredibly brave to those who saw this map. It is unclear how much of this destruction and displacement can be credited to Europeans, and how much to other Native tribes; south of Lake Erie, Delisle notes the destruction of the Nation du Chat (the Erie People) at the hands of the Iroquois.Significantly, Delisle's Carte de la Louisiane marks the first appearance of any variant of the name "Texas'' on a printed map: a small string of text reading Mission de los Teijas etablie en 1716 appears along the banks of the Trinity River. The map's immense accuracy in regards to the Mississippi and its tributary rivers cemented it as the region's prototypical map, a status which it held through the end of the eighteenth century. This resulted in countless derivative maps and plagiarisms which continued to be published years after Delisle's death in 1726.The Carte du Canada (1703) was the first map to name Detroit, just two years after the founding of the settlement by Cadillac. A great deal of the map is based on Franquelin Joliet's expeditions (1673- in New France, which covered the northern parts of the Mississippi and the Great Lakes as well as New Foundland and Labrador. To the lower left Delisle records the speculative explorations of the Baron Louis Armand de Lahonton. Lahonton (1666–1715) was a French military officer commanding the fort of St. Joseph, near modern day Port Huron, Michigan. Abandoning his post to live and travel with local Chippewa tribes, Lahonton claims to have explored much of the Upper Mississippi Valley and even discovered a heretofore unknown river, which he dubbed the Longue River. This river he claims to have followed a good distance from its convergence with the Mississippi. Beyond the point where he himself traveled, Lahonton wrote of further lands along the river described by his guides. These include a great saline lake or sea (ghosted in here) at the base of a low mountain range. This range, he reported, could be easily crossed and from this point further rivers flowed westward to the mysterious lands of the Mozeemleck, and presumably the Pacific. This would have intrigued both the French and the English who were disparate to find a suitable route to the Pacific in order to trade their furs and other products with China and the Far East.