The complete Cassini map sheets were published in March 2024 by Conspiration Éditions. This exceptional book brings together all 181 leaves, reproduced to their original scale so as to recreate their full splendour in every detail.
For this version, the publisher has chosen to reproduce a luxury copy, the so-called "The Queen's" preserved in the reserves of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the finest and clearest version of this map. "These maps were originally engraved on copper plates (the first by the King's geographer in Paris, Joseph-Dominique Seguin) and then printed in black and white. For this version, each sheet was enhanced with watercolour and then cut into 21 rectangles, which were then glued to jute canvas so that they could be folded up and transported easily, explains publisher Théodore Lillo.
An invitation to travel through 18th-century France
The first detailed representation of the whole of the kingdom of France, the Cassini map - the Cassini map to be precise - is the result of the work of four generations of astronomers, mathematicians, topographers, draughtsmen and engravers. In all, 181 sheets were assembled to form a picture more than eleven metres wide and twelve metres high. Although publication of this work began under Louis XV, it was his grandfather, Louis XIV, who initiated it by creating the Académie des Sciences, which commissioned work in astronomy and geodesy.
All the reproductions are accompanied by an introduction by Jean-Luc Arnaud, cartographic historian and director of research at the CNRS.
This exceptional work, conceived as an art book, is aimed primarily at museums, major universities and international libraries, as well as collectors.
Limited and numbered edition
400 pages, Book size closed: 57 x 66.5 cm, Book size open: 117 x 66.5 cm.
Total weight: 24 kg
Scientific director of the publication: Jean-Luc Arnaud
First edition of 250 copies, Price: 2400 €
Removable altuglas lectern specially designed for this book by designer Olivier Maupin, included in delivery.
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