A decorative map of the continent of America published by Guillaume Danet (c.1670-1732) in Paris, 1731. The map is rare as it was not published in any regular atlas and should be considered separately published. Danet married Marguerite‐Geneviève de Fer and became the son-in-law of the Geographer Royal Nicolas de Fer. He continued de Fer’s business in partnership with Jacques-Francois Benard, also a son-in-law to de Fer. Their Paris based business continued to publish de Fer’s maps alongside publishing their own, like this decorative map.

The map is derived from that of Guillaume de L’Isle published at the time. North America displays a large ‘Louisiane’ in the centre extending from the Rio Grande eastwards to include what was Spanish Florida. The Pacific is poorly understood but would open in the ensuing decades. The ‘Remarques’ lower left provide extensive description on the explorers displayed. Others across the map provide interesting information. The ‘Avertissement’ lower right informs us that ‘The projection of this map does not allow for any particular scale, we use degrees of latitude and one of these degrees is worth 20 large leagues of France’. The ornate border includes numerous portraits of explorers of the continent top and bottom and the signs of the zodiac along the sides. Provenance: Juan and Peggy Rada Collection. Tooley’s Dictionary (1999-2004).