ATLAS UNIVERSEL.

Description: Folio: [36 incl. engr. title] pp. - 108 maps, all border-coloured (postal route maps are bound in between the other maps, and not at the end as mentioned by M. Sponberg Pedley, reinforced margins, some repairs and damp stains). - Complete edition of Vaugondy's Atlas, the first ever sold in France by subscription! With a title engraved by Ch. Baquoy and maps of which the cartouches attracted unanimous praise from critics. The Atlas "commode, complet, uniforme et suivi" came to be the public's choice for more than a century. It was indeed not designed for the scrutiny of geographers, but for the public for "whom the maps furnish a means by which one might be transported to the scene and find oneself on the threshold of judging events and even of reflecting upon the future." Nonetheless, the Vaugondys searched for geographical information with great thoroughness and used its sources according to a strict method. - Ref. Bel et utile, pp. 228-229. - Prov. J.B. Tinant (ms. note).

Condition: Contemp. marbled calf, gilt decorated spines, red sprinkled edges (spine broken but firm, tailband missing). Artist Name: ROBERT de VAUGONDY, [Gilles & Didier] Circa: 1757