A rare cased atlas of eight large folding maps of the world

Paris : Chez J. Goujon et J. Andriveau, 1827. A large book-form box made of stiff card, 250 mm tall, gilt-decorated papered sides, silk draw ribbon, the ‘spine’ made of crushed morocco styled in compartments, with gilt ornamentation and the lettering ‘Atlas par H. Brué’, listing the eight maps contained within: ‘Mappemonde; Europe; Asie; Afrique; Amérique Septentrionale; Amérique Méridionale; Océanie; France’. Each engraved map measures 650 x 970 mm and is hand coloured; dissected into 21 panels and laid on linen with paper title labels and tabs, lettered in manuscript. The maps are dated 1827, and were assembled as a cased collection around that date.

A spectacular French cased atlas of the six known continents, the world and France, presented in a bespoke case of refined proportions designed to sit alongside other richly bound volumes in a noblman’s library.

Such artefacts are rare, however in 2016 we handled another example of a Brue cased atlas, the dimensions about one third larger and the maps dating from 1814 – 1819.