1785 CARTE DE L'ILE DE MARTHA'S VINEYARD Antique Map by Tardieu (LM36)

TARDIEU, Pierre

About this Item

1785 CARTE DE LILE DE MARTHAS VINEYARD avec ses dependances pour les Lettres dun Cauluvateur Ameriquain.An attractive and rare map, being the earliest obtainable separate map of Marthas Vineyard. It covers Marthas Vineyard in full as well as parts of the adjacent Elizabeth Islands. The map extends northwards to include, vaguely, all of the Buzzards Bay and southwards as far as Nomans Land Island, now a wildlife refuge. On the Vineyard, details includ roads, natural features, towns and villages, and two meeting houses. Tardieu locates Edgartown, Tidsbury Wood, Chappaquiddick (Chapoquidick), Eel Pond, Peat Swamp, Squidnoket Pastures, and Cape Pog Pond, Although published in Paris for a French audience, most of the test is in fact in English. The exception is the title and a key in the upper right identifying 10 additional numbered locations. It was engraved in 1785 for publication in accompaniment of Michel Guillaume St. Jean de Crevecoerurs 1787 LETTRES DUN CULTIVATEUR AMERIQUAIN (Letters of an American Farmer), a collection of essays describing American life in such bountiful language that it inspired a wave of French immigration.Overall size approx 30cm x 27cm.Pierre Antoine Tardieu (1784-1869), also known to sign his works as PF Tardieu, was a prolific French map engraver and geographer. The Tardieu family, based in Paris, was well known for their talent in engraving, cartography, and illustration. Pierre Antoines father, Antoine Francois Tardieu, was an established cartographer who published numerous atlases. His son is said to have collaborated with him for many years before establishing his own independent career.Pierre Antoine Tardieus most famous work includes engravings of the islands of La Palma and Tenerife, for which in 1818 he was awarded a bronze medal by King Louis-Phillipe for the beauty and accuracy of his mapping. Other famous work includes his mapping of Louisiana and Mexico, engravings of Irish counties, maps of Russia and Asia, and his highly celebrated illustrations of all the provinces of France. He was also the first mapmaker to engrave on steel.Tardieu was a popular map engraver in his lifetime, enjoying the patronage of the likes of Alexander von Humboldt and respect among his peers. In 1837, he was appointed the title Chevalier de la Landeacute;gion dhonneur. As was written in his obituary in the Bulletin of the Geographical Society of France, he was renowned for his combination of technical talent and scholarly research skills and praised for furthering his familys well-respected name in the scientific arts.

Seller Inventory # LM36-5220336

Bibliographic Details

• Title: 1785 CARTE DE L'ILE DE MARTHA'S VINEYARD Antique Map by Tardieu (LM36)