Bidspirit auction | Bonne & Desmarest's Atlas Encyclopedique

Bonne & Desmarest's Atlas Encyclopedique - Two Volumes with 140 Engraved Maps & 2 Frontispieces - This exceptional two volumes with 140 engraved maps is Atlas Encyclopedique by Ricobert Bonne and Nicolas Desmarest. The work was published by Hotel de Thou in Paris in 1787 and 1788. The volumes are bound in decorative contemporary half calf, spines richly gilt, two color labels. The work is complete with 140 engraved maps and 2 frontispieces. There are numerous in-text charts. The work covers every land known at the time, with a handful of world maps, and maps of varying locality describing every part of the world. Rigobert Bonne (1727-1794) was the chief cartographer of France at the end of the monarchy. The maps he drew are highly accurate and less artistic than those that came before, representing a move towards practicality and away from artfulness. Nicolas Desmarest (1725-1815) was a French geologist who, for much of his early life, traveled Europe on foot and was a member of the l’Academie Royale des Sciences Provenance: Modern bookplate present Paper Size: ~ 9” by 11 1/2” Paper Type or Special Features: Two Volumes with 140 Engraved Maps & 2 Frontispieces