SANSON (Nicolas). - Lot 31

SANSON (Nicolas). Africa in Several New and Accurate Maps; and in Various Treatises on Geography and History… Paris: published by the author, 1656. — In-4, 250 x 182: (51 ff.), 17 maps (out of 18). Soft parchment, smooth spine, partially covered with green paper, red edges (contemporary binding). A rare first edition, dedicated to Nicolas Fouquet, Superintendent of Finances under Louis XIV, prior to his fall from grace. This atlas, the third volume in a series of four devoted to the continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas), is entirely dedicated to Africa. It includes 17 maps (out of 18), engraved across two pages and in color, depicting the continent as a whole as well as its various regions and countries: Morocco, Fez, Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, the Barca Desert, Western Bidulgérid, Congo, the Land of the Kaffirs, Egypt, Libya, Zanzibar, as well as islands such as Madagascar, Cape Verde, Madeira, the Canary Islands, and Malta. The map of Guinea is missing. Each map is accompanied by detailed descriptions that combine geography, history, and ethnography. These texts explore the physical characteristics of the territories (kingdoms, rivers, topography), the ruling dynasties, significant events, as well as the customs, traditions, and social structures of African populations, as perceived or imagined by 17th-century Europeans. Sanson drew upon the accounts of Arab, Portuguese, and Dutch travelers, earlier maps, astronomical observations, as well as the works of missionaries and diplomats. The collection thus offers a comprehensive view of the knowledge available at the time regarding a continent that was still largely unknown. Binding soiled, tears along the edges, paper covering the spine largely detached. Title page stained, foxing. Provenance: Ch. Chadenat, with a label from his bookstore.