I bought this atlas quite a few years ago, and as the binding was falling apart they were very easy to scan. The atlas itself was not salvageable as at least one map seemed to be missing, the binding was disintegrating, the spine was missing, and the covers had fallen off. Thus, I am selling the maps individually in my bookstore, ZephyrusBooks.com, on this page HERE.
There are about 100 maps in the book. This atlas had maps of all the French Departments and overseas possessions of the time. Every department of France at the time is represented on its own page, with political, demographic and other information on the reverse Vuillemin issued may versions of this atlas over the years, changing the border details, title decorations, fonts and the like over from edition to edition. The size would also vary, and while not the largest examples, these are larger than many.
Alexandre Vuillemin (1812-1880) produced a number of atlases, and his maps are noted for the extensive margin illustrations – vignettes, famous people, and views of cities. Each map was titled with a different font, and the fonts, decorations and marginalia changed with each subsequent edition. Later editions were often more elaborate and sometimes larger than the maps I have scanned here.
The date is approximate, but fairly accurate. I have checked the demographics given for each department against historical population figures, and they match the decade. The date, 1858, is printed on the large fold out map of France in the rear of the atlas.
Title: La France et ses Colonies: Atlas illustré cent cartes dressées d’après les cartes de Cassini, du Dépot de la guerre, des Ponts-et-chaussées et de la Marine par Vuillemin. Texte redigé d’après les documents officiels et sur un plan entièrement nouveau. réunissant en forme de tableaux 1° La Division administrative, politique,judiciaire, religieuse, militaire, etc. ; 2° Les Vicissitudes historiques; 3° La Biographie; 4° La Statistique; 5° Les Ressources agricoles, industrielles, commerciales; 6° Les établissements d’instruction ou d’utilité publique; 7° la description détaillée de tous les chefs-lieux d’arrondissement et de lieux remarquables; 8° Enfin les Curiosités de la Physionomie morale de chaque département et de chaque colonie française par Ernest Poirée.)
Author: Alexandre Vuillemin and Ernest Poirée
Artist: Alexandre Vuillemin
Publisher: Migeon
Date Published: 1858 (circa)
