Carte du Premier Periode du Monde Depus Adam Iusqu…

Scarce, c.18th fully hand coloured engraved map by William Chatelain from his ambitious universal history, in which geography, sacred history, chronology, and genealogy are combined within a single visual and intellectual framework.

The map depicts the world as understood in the Biblical First Period, from the Creation and the time of Adam through the generations of the early Patriarchs. Rather than presenting geography alone, the composition integrates cartography with extensive chronological tables and genealogical trees tracing descent from Adam through his immediate successors.

The geographical component reflects contemporary early eighteenth-century European cartographic knowledge, largely derived from the French school of Nicolas Sanson and later Dutch adaptations. Surrounding the map are detailed engraved panels setting out scriptural chronology, lifespans of the Patriarchs, and synchronised historical calculations. The plate exemplifies Chatelain’s method: the fusion of sacred and secular scholarship into a didactic visual system intended to harmonise Biblical narrative with geographic science.

Decorative elements include finely engraved cartouches and typographic panels characteristic of Amsterdam engraving of the period. The engraving is crisp and carefully composed, balancing dense textual material with cartographic clarity. The Atlas Historique was one of the most ambitious publishing enterprises of the early Enlightenment, issued in multiple volumes between 1705 and 1720.

From Chatelain, H.  Atlas Historique, ou Nouvelle Introduction a l’Histoire, a la Chronologie & a la Geographie Ancienne & Moderne.