15- CARTE DES CHASSES DU ROI. - Carte topographique... Lot 15

15- [CARTE DES CHASSES DU ROI]. - Carte topographique des environs de Versailles dite des chasses impériales, levé et dressée de 1764 à 1773 par les ingénieurs géographes des camps et armées commandés par feu M. Berthier, colonel, leur chef; terminée en 1807, par ordre de Napoléon Empereur des Français, roi d'Italie et protecteur de la Confédération du Rhin, pendant le Ministère de S.A.S. M. le Maréchal Alexandre Berthier, prince de Neuchâtel [...] sous la direction du Général de division Sanson]. [Paris], [Au Dépôt général de la guerre], s.d. (1807), in-8, one assembly plan and 12 maps, size 45.5 x 81 cm, folded to 23 x 13.5 cm and carefully interfaced, in leaves, interfaced, in red half-sheepskin slipcase, spine partitioned and decorated alternately with fleurs-de-lis and measuring instruments (Restoration binding). A relatively unusual presentation of the great "Carte des Chasses Impériales", begun under Louis XV and not completed until 1807. It is normally found in the form of a large flat atlas, with the plates in 77.5 x 44 cm format. Here, an enthusiast has had the maps mounted in an elegant in-8 slipcase, which allows for a less voluminous presentation, but has neglected to include the large engraved title. A true masterpiece, both in terms of the precision and multitude of details depicted and the finesse of its engraving, this "Carte des Chasses" is certainly the finest large-scale map published at the time, both in France and abroad. It marks the crowning achievement of 18th-century cartography. Thiébaud, 154. Vallée 3591.