A finely engraved map of the regions of Champagne and Brie in eastern France. The city of Paris is just placed on the left side. Matthaus Merian (1593-1650) was born in Basle, Switzerland, he was one of the finest engravers of the seventeenth century. He married the daughter of Theodore de Bry (1528-98) and is was renowned for his town plans and views. The ‘Topographiae’ series began in 1642 with a volume on Switzerland and extended to much of Europe. The final work covers Italy in 1688. Much of the text was provided by Martin Zeiler (1589-1661). The ‘Topographia Gallia’ itself was published 1655-61. Another of his great works was the ‘Theatrum Europaeum’ in 21 volumes begun in 1635. Completed by his descendants in 1738 it was a historical work covering events from 1617 to 1718. At its conclusion it consisted of some 20,000 pages of text, 720 maps, plans, views and other engravings and nearly 700 portraits. Shirley (2004) G.Meri 1a; Tooley’s Dictionary (1999-2004).