Curio

State Library of New South Wales
Grande mappemonde céleste, terrestre, historique & cosmographique, dediée au Roi, où sont représentés les differens systêmes du monde, 1786

Grande mappemonde céleste, terrestre, historique & cosmographique, dediée au Roi, où sont représentés les differens systêmes du monde, 1786

Grande mappemonde céleste, terrestre, historique & cosmographique, dediée au Roi, où sont représentés les differens systêmes du monde, 1786

Louis Charles Desnos

M4 100/1786/1

Paris: Desnos, 1786

Hand coloured printed map


This beautiful large wall map consists of six joined sheets. It is hand-coloured and features a twin hemispherical map of the world (including the routes of James Cook). The lavish borders are decorated with the signs of the zodiac, astronomical and astrological dials and wind points. The lower part of the map consists of text describing the geography of the three ancient continents, Europe, Asia and Africa. 


Louis Charles Desnos was official cartographer to the King of Denmark.

The three ‘ancient continents’ are the continents of the ‘Old World’ – Europe, Asia and Africa.

The three 'ancient continents' were originally described by the geographers of antiquity, including Ptolemy.


Louis Charles Desnos had his publishing business on the Rue St Jacques in Paris.