Henri Abraham Chatelain (1684 - 1743)
A Huguenot pastor of Parisian origins. He lived consecutively in Paris, St. Martins, London (c. 1710), the Hague (c. 1721) and Amsterdam (c. 1728). Chatelain was a skilled artist and knew combining a wealth of historical and geographical information with delicate engraving and an uncomplicated composition. Groundbreaking for its time, this work included studies of geography, history, ethnology, heraldry, and cosmography. His maps with his elegant engraving are a superb example from the golden age of French mapmaking.The publishing firm of Chatelain, Chatelain Frères and Chatelain & Fils is recorded in Amsterdam, from around 1700-1770, with Zacharias living "op den Dam" in 1730.
Henri Abraham Chatelain, his father Zacharie Chatelain (d.1723) and Zacharie Junior (1690-1754), worked as a partnership publishing the Atlas Historique, Ou Nouvelle Introduction à L'Histoire under several different Chatelain imprints, depending on the Chatelain family partnerships at the time of publication. The atlas was published in seven volumes between 1705 and 1720, with a second edition appearing in 1732. The volumes I-IV with a Third edition and volume I with a final edition in 1739.
Henri Abraham Chatelain, whose "Atlas Historique" was one of the most expansive Dutch encyclopedias of the age. First published in 1705, Chatelain's Atlas Historique was part of an immense seven-volume encyclopedia. Although the main focus of the text was geography, the work also included a wealth of historical, political, and genealogical information. The text was compiled by Nicholas Gueudeville and Garillon with a supplement by H.P. de Limiers and the maps were engraved by Chatelain, primarily after charts by De L'Isle. The atlas was published in Amsterdam between 1705 and 1721 and was later reissued by Zacharie Chatelain between 1732 and 1739.
Atlas Historique: First published in Amsterdam from 1705 to 1720, the various volumes were updated at various times up to 1739 when the fourth edition of vol.I appeared, stated as the "dernière edition, corrigée & augmentée."
The first four volumes seem to have undergone four printings with the later printings being the most desirable as they contain the maximum number of corrections and additions. The remaining three final volumes were first issued between 1719-1720 and revised in 1732.
An ambitious and beautifully-presented work, the Atlas Historique was intended for the general public, fascinated in the early eighteenth century by the recently conquered colonies and the new discoveries. Distant countries, such as the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, Mongolia, China, Japan, Indonesia, etc., take an important place in this work.
In addition to the maps, many of which are based on Guillaume De L'Isle, the plates are after the best travel accounts of the period, such as those of Dapper, Chardin, de Bruyn, Le Hay and other.
Other sections deal with the history of the european countries, and covers a wide range of subjects including genealogy, history, cosmography, topography, heraldry and chronology, costume of the world, all illustrated with numerous engraved maps, plates of local inhabitants and heraldic charts of the lineages of the ruling families of the time. The maps, prints and tables required to make up a complete set are listed in detail in each volume. The accompanying text is in French and often is printed in two columns on the page with maps and other illustrations interspersed. Each map and table is numbered consecutively within its volume and all maps bear the privileges of the States of Holland and West-Friesland.
The encyclopaedic nature of the work as a whole is reflected in this six frontispiece. The pages are the work of the celerated mr. Romeijn de Hooghe. and are engraved by J.Goeree, T.Schynyoet and P.Sluyter.
New scholarship has suggested the compiler of the atlas, who is identified on the title as "Mr. C***" not to be Henri Abraham Châtelain, but Zacharie Châtelain. (See Van Waning's article in the Journal of the International Map Collectors' Society for persuasive evidence of the latter's authorship.)
Henri Abraham Chatelain (1)
1719 Henri Chatelain Large Antique Map of Java Indonesia - EIC Dutch East Indies
Antique Map
- Title : Carte de L ' Isle de Java; Partie Occidentale, Partie Orientale, Dresee tout Nouvellement
- Date : 1719
- Size: 36 3/4in x 17 1/2in (980mm x 445mm)
- Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
- Ref: 35643
Description:
This large fine beautifully hand coloured highly detailed original antique map of the Indonesian Island of Java was published by Henri Abraham Chatelain in 1718 was published in his famous Atlas Historique.
This is a landmark map at a time when the Dutch East India Company still had stranglehold on the trade of the East Indies with bright hand colouring, clean strong sturdy paper and a heavy clear impression donating an early pressing.
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Later
Colors used: - Green, red, orange, yellow, blue
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 36 3/4in x 17 1/2in (980mm x 445mm)
Plate size: - 34 1/2in x 15 1/2in (900mm x 395mm)
Margins: - Min 1in (25mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - Folds as issued
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - Folds as issued
Background:
A beautiful example of Henri Chatelain's important 1718 map of Java. Covers the island in full as well as adjacent parts of Sumatra and Bali. Offers beautiful engraving and extraordinary detail throughout, noting rice plantations, mountain ranges, grazing lands, forests, and in many places, elephants and gazelle. The previously unknown southern shore is mapped both correctly and in considerable detail. Also shows some offshore reefs and other dangers. The volcanic island of Krakatau, here identified as Cracatao, which nearly 150 years later would erupt with devastating consequences, appears in the Strait of Sunda between Java and Sumatra. In the lower left quadrant an inset details the city and port of Batavia, then the center of Dutch East Indian Company's activity in the region. Appearing in tapestry style windows at the top of the map is an area of extensive text. Composed by Gueudeville, this is a discussion of the history of the lands and countries depicted. Additional textual data referencing the cities and villages of Java, appears to the left and right of the map proper.
In its day Chatelain's map of Java was by far the most sophisticated study of the island yet published. Previous to this map, the most advanced cartographic rendering of Java was Van der Aa's 1714 mapping of the region, which though it correctly identified general form of Java's northern shore, identified the southern shore as "Parte Incognita". Of course the Dutch were active in this region since the 17th century and had no doubt produced accurate manuscript charts of the island, but these were carefully guarded trade secrets controlled by the powerful Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (V.O.C. or Dutch East India Company). The publication of Chatelain's map of Java, offered here, suggests that Chatelain somehow obtained his data from a source outside of the V.O.C. That Chatelain's map was copied by Johannes Van Keulen II, the V.O.C.'s own cartographer, nine years later suggests that even the V.O.C., who maintained an active presence on the island, did not possess more accurate data. It is highly likely that Chatelain extracted much of his cartographic information on Java from Hadrien Reland, a Dutch scholar and philologist who composed a number of works on the Indonesian Archipelago in the early 18th century.
A highly important map of the region and a must for an serious collection focusing on the East Indies.
The Atlas Historique published by Henri Chatelain was part of a major work of its time, an encyclopedia in seven volumes, including geography as one of its main subjects. The text was by Nicholas Gueudeville and the maps by Chatelain. The Atlas included one of the finest map of America (four sheets) surrounded by vignettes and decorative insets. The Atlas Historique was completed between 1705 and 1720, further issues were published up to 1739. The series was published in Amsterdam, with Chatelain’s maps based on those of G. Delisle. (Koeman; M&B; Tooley; Burden; AMPR)
