Description
Robert de Vaugondy's Atlas Universel
These magnificent maps are from the Atlas Universal by Gilles and Didier Robert de Vaugondy. These maps are from the first edition published in Paris in 1757.
Atlas Universal was one of the most important 18th century atlases and is considered by many to be one of the crowning achievements of the French Enlightenment. The level of detail and accuracy, including roads, canal systems, and postal routes on some maps, set the de Vaugondy's work apart from other atlases of the time.
Gilles and Didier were father and son and descendants of Nicolas Sanson author of Cartes Generales de Toutes les Parties de Monde published in 1654. The Atlas Universal incorporated inherited Sanson map plates as well as others acquired from the estate of Hubert Jaillot and was the standard general atlas in France for most of the second half of the 18th century.
They are on fine chain linked paper and vary in size.