1739 CHATELAIN, H.A. - (Chatelain "Atlas Historique" in 7 volumes.]

Henri Abraham Chatelain, whose Atlas Historique was one of the most expansive encyclopedias of the age. First published in 1705, Chatelain's Atlas Historique was part of an immense seven-volume encyclopedia. Although the text focused on geography, it also included a wealth of historical, political, and genealogical information. 

The text was compiled by Nicholas Gueudeville and Garillon, with a supplement by H.P. de Limiers, and the maps were engraved by Chatelain, primarily after charts by Delisle. The atlas was published in Amsterdam between 1705 and 1721 and later reissued by Zacharie Chatelain between 1732 and 1739.

Chatelain was a skilled artist who combined a wealth of historical and geographical information with delicate engraving and an uncomplicated composition. Groundbreaking for its time, this work included studies of geography, history, ethnology, heraldry, and cosmography. His maps, with their elegant engraving, are a superb example of the golden age of French mapmaking.

Amsterdam: Chez Zacharie Châtelain, 7 volumes, en folio. in total 6 frontispieces and 287 plates:
Volume 1 (1739) frontispiece and 46 plates
Volume 2 (1737) frontispiece and 37 plates.
Volume 3 (1737) frontispiece and 30 plates.
Volume 4 (1735) frontispiece and 34 plates
Volume 5 (1732)frontispiece and 57 plates
Volume 6 (1732) 39 plates (counted 1 plate for the large America, which has 4 sheets that have been completely joined)
Volume 7 (1732) frontispiece and 44 plates.

An ambitious and beautifully presented work, the “Atlas Historique” was intended for the general public, fascinated in the early eighteenth century by the recently conquered colonies and the new discoveries. Distant countries, such as the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, Mongolia, China, Japan, and Indonesia, take an important place in this work.
In addition to the maps, many of which are based on Guillaume de l'Isle, the plates draw on the best travel accounts of the period, such as those of Dapper, Chardin, de Bruyn, Le Hay, and others.

Other sections deal with the history of the European countries, covering a wide range of subjects, including genealogy, history, cosmography, topography, heraldry and chronology, costume of the world, all illustrated with numerous engraved maps, plates of local inhabitants and heraldic charts of the lineages of the ruling families of the time. The maps, prints and tables required to make up a complete set are listed in detail in each volume.

First published in Amsterdam from 1705 to 1720, the various volumes were updated at various times up to 1739 when the fourth edition of vol.I appeared, stated as the "dernière edition, corrigée & augmentée."
The first four volumes seem to have undergone four printings, with the later printings being the most desirable as they contain the maximum number of corrections and additions. The remaining three final volumes were first issued between 1719-1720 and revised in 1732.

The present set is made up as follows: Final edition of volume 1, third edition of vols. 2, 3,4, second edition of vols 5, 6, 7.

Henri Abraham Chatelain (1684 – 1743) was a Huguenot pastor of Parisian origins. He lived consecutively in Paris, St. Martin's, London (c. 1710), The Hague (c. 1721) and Amsterdam (c. 1728). The publishing firm of Chatelain, Chatelain Frères and Chatelain & Fils is recorded in Amsterdam from around 1700-1770, with Zacharias living "op den Dam" in 1730.

The atlas was published in seven volumes between 1705 and 1720, with a second edition appearing in 1732. Volumes I-IV had a Third edition, and volume I had a final edition in 1739.
The maps were accompanied by information about cosmography, geography, history, chronology, genealogy, topography, heraldry, and costumes of the world.

The maps in the Atlas Historique were mainly based on those of the French cartographer Guillaume De L’Isle, but were presented by the Chatelains in an encyclopedic form. The accompanying text is in French and is often printed in two columns, with maps and other illustrations interspersed. Each map and table is numbered consecutively within its volume and all maps bear the privileges of the States of Holland and West-Friesland.

The encyclopedic nature of the work as a whole is reflected in these six frontispieces. The pages are the work of the celebrated mr. Romeijn de Hooghe, and are engraved by J. Goeree, T. Schynyoet, and P. Sluyter.

The first volume concerns the ancient world and contemporary Italy, France, and Spain. Eight double-page maps show ancient political and geographical boundaries and locations, plus city views of Rome. The volume also includes genealogical and historical charts and tables. Two maps cover North America: Plates 2 and 4, double-hemisphere world maps that show North America with California as an island.

Volume V
This volume is devoted to Asia and contains a very fine large folding map of Java and Japan after Reland, and a fine section on China and Japan, with maps after de l'Isle.
The maps in this historical encyclopedia are of interest for the East Sea, the sea between Korea and Japan, here called "Mer Orientale ou Mer de Corée". A large portion is devoted to the History of China and its religious aspects, mentioning the Missionary works by Father Rizzi, etc.

Volume VI
Phillips records 35 maps of American interest, including twelve in vol. VI. The most important of the American interest maps is the "Carte tres curieuse de la Mer du Sud" [Goss North America 52; McLaughlin 190; Wagner 511], which depicts the history of discovery in the western hemisphere from the time of Columbus to the French explorations in North America in the late seventeenth century. Central to the detail is the large depiction of California as an island a somewhat outdated concept at the time of publication and a contrast to the geographically accurate (relatively) delineation of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi.

The Carte Tres Curieuse is also renowned for its illustrations of the New World; beavers are shown at work by Niagara Falls, a fishing factory is in operation in New England, and numerous views of New World cities are included. Medallion portraits of New World explorers show Columbus, Vespucci, Magellan, Drake, La Salle and Dampier.
The example in the present set is a fine dark impression on four sheets joined to form a large folding sheet. (As usual, a few tears on crossings of folds have been restored)

References: Koeman II, Cha 1-7 (with variant collation, as usual); Cf. Phillips Atlases 579; Goffart, Historical Atlases, p. 132; van Waning, "Châtelain's Atlas Historique" in Journal of the International Map Collectors' Society, Spring 2010.

New scholarship has suggested the compiler of the atlas, identified on the title as "Mr. C***" not to be Henri Abraham Châtelain, but Zacharie Châtelain. (See Van Waning's article in the Journal of the International Map Collectors' Society for persuasive evidence of the latter's authorship.) The images incorporated into the plates and tables are drawn from the best available contemporary sources, including the works of Dapper, Chardin, de Bruyn, Le Hay and others. Many of the maps are based on the work of Guillaume de l'Lisle.

Reference: Koeman II, Cha 1-7 (with variant collation, as usual); Cf. Phillips Atlases 579; Goffart, Historical Atlases, p. 132; van Waning, ''Chatelain's Atlas Historique''; in Journal of the International Map Collectors' Society, Spring 2010.

Henri Abraham Chatelain (1684-1743)