English:

Copper engraving handcolored with watercolor.

Outline color.

Relief shown pictorially.

Printed in upper left corner in cartouche: "Carte Des Pays bas Catholiques dressée sur un grand nombre de cartes particulieres faites sur les lieux ou les limites sont exactement marquées suivant les derniers traitéz Par Guillaume De l'Isle Geographe de l'Academie Royale des Sciences A Paris Chez l'Aueteur sur le Quai de l'Horloge al'Aigle d'Or avec Privil. pour 20 ans. MDCCII."

Printed in lower left corner is scale the common leagues of the Low Countries, leagues from Flanders, Artois, Brabant and Luxembourg as well as common French leagues and common German leagues.

Beneath the cartouche, text from previous engraving is visible but not legible.

Written in ink in upper right corner: "No. 47".

Depicts the Catholic Low Countries including Flanders, Brabant, Namur, Cambresi, Haynau, Luxembourg, Artois, Holland, Cologne, Zealand, and part of Westphalia. Shows pictorial cities, mountains and forests as well as rivers. Decorating the cartouche are flowers, two classical figures, banners with coats of arms and a reclining lion.

Guillaume de L'Isle (1675-1726) was a cartographer and the Premier Geographer to the King in France beginning in 1718. His family played a significant part in the world of French cartography in the eighteenth century. At age 9, he drew his first map and at age 27 he became a member of the Académie Royale des Sciences. He studied under Jacques Cassini, acquiring knowledge in both mathematics and astronomy. Due to his academic background and his "critical approach to the maps of his predecessors," he became known as the first "scientific cartographer" (Moreland and Bannister, 132). Among his works are "Globe, map of the world and the four continents" (1700), "Atlas de Géographie" (1700-12), "Mississippi" (1701), "Carte du Mexique et de la Floride…" (c.a. 1703), "Carte de la Louisiane et du Mississippi" (1718) and posthumously, "Atlas Noveau" (1730 and later). Following his death, his widow took up the business with a partner, Philippe Buache (Tooley 395; Moreland and Bannister, 131-2). This particular map was separated from a pre-1732 edition of De L'Isle's untitled atlas referred to as "Atlas de Geographie." Source(s):

• David Rumsey Cartography Associates. "David Rumsey Collection: Carte Pays Bas Catholiques, dressee sur un grand nombre de cartes." Accessed 20 Mar 2009.
• Moreland, Carl and David Bannister. "Antique Maps: A Collector's Handbook." New York: Longman Group, Ltd., 1983.
• The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. Catalog Record. Accessed 20 Mar 2009.
• Tooley, Ronald Vere. "Tooley's Dictionary of Mapmakers." Hertfordshire: Map Collector Publications Limited, 1979 (Tooley 395; Moreland and Bannister, 131

Subjects (LCSH): Belgium--Maps--Early works to 1800.; Luxembourg--Maps--Early works to 1800.; ; Netherlands-Maps-Early works to 1800.