Large relief map of North Africa at 1:500,000... Lot 1

Large relief map of North Africa at 1:500,000 scale. Beautiful cartography representing the reliefs of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, with a western part of Libya (with the city of Ghamades), the extreme north of Mauritania (with the city of Chegga), the extreme north of Mali and the south of Spain. We can see the main massifs of the Atlas, the plains, the Grand Erg, the beginning of the Tademaït plateau, the big cities (Ouarzazate, Marrakech, Casablanca, Rabat, Fes, Oran, Algiers, Bougie, Tunis, Sfax, ...), the roads and communication routes (including railroads and tracks) This map has the specificity of showing the major mining resources of the region (iron, lead, zinc, copper, coal, phosphate, manganese, wolfram, .), the main gas and oil deposits such as those of Hassi Messaoud (discovered in 1956), Tiguentourine (discovered in 1958), Zarzaïne (discovered in 1958), or of Djebel-Berga (discovered in 1954) or the stop forts (Fort Lallemand, created in 1894) and the forts of the south of the Sahara (Fort Flatters, created in 1899, Fort Polignac, created in 1908, Fort Gardel, created in 1935, Fort Charlet, created in 1911). Also indicated are the latitudes (between 25 and 37 degrees north) and longitudes (between -14 degrees west and +10 degrees east) and a legend on a gray background screwed on by four brass rivets. This map was probably published in the 1960s, as it shows the large oil pipeline linking Hassi Messaoud to Bougie (now Bejaia) which was inaugurated in December 1959. This work was one of the last major decisions of the colonial administration before Algeria's independence in 1962. The whole is composed of a dozen large resin plates mounted on a wooden frame and fixed by metal screws. The whole is covered with painted decoration. The names and numbers are composed of black painted wooden letters, fixed on the card. Some letters and numbers have fallen off over time. The base is made of an oak piece reminiscent of the amphitheaters of the universities. This map was probably commissioned by the General Leveling Service of France, a branch of the IGN, and conceived following the various mapping campaigns of France and the colonies (since 1947). In spite of numerous chips (especially on the sides), wetness, and missing paint, the colors are fresh and the whole deserves a restoration of the paint in order to be valued. Relief maps remain quite rare and this one is a unique testimony of the last moments of the French administration in North Africa. Circa 1960-1962. Dim : Without the base: H : 305cm - W : 481cm - D : 6,8cm With the base: H : 322cm - W : 488cm - D : 10cm The wall map has been completely dismantled (in 4 parts) and packed by the Lagache company. Note: the general levelling service of France is the service of the IGN dedicated to the altimetry network disseminated on the territory. Inherited from the network created in 1857 by Paul Adrien Bourdalouë (who set the altimetric zero at the Marseille tidal scale), then the network created in 1884 by Charles Lallemand (who refined Bourdalouë's zero and raised the Marseille zero by 71 mm), then the IGN 1969 network which takes up Lallemand's work by bringing measurement precisions. This network is composed of more than 450,000 markers, mostly made of metal circles. In homage to Bourdalouë, a marker is placed on his grave.