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JAILLOT, Alexis-Hubert (c.1632-1712). Le Grand Caire. Paris: 1669.
Magnificent unrecorded large-scale bird's eye view of Cairo, possibly unique. This map gives a superb view of the location, architecture and layout of what was then the second-largest city in the Ottoman Empire after Constantinople. The wealth of the current city is depicted by the nobility in fine clothing in the foreground, while the irrigated gardens and date harvest indicate agricultural plenty; the numerous boats on the Nile suggest vibrant trade, while the troop exercises to the left-hand side imply military strength and prowess. The long, ancient history of Egypt is shown with the famous pyramids surrounding the modern city, and the Sphinx, depicted in a very Western fashion, appears to the right with explanatory text.
The map's ancestors are many and varied. Probably most derive from Matteo Pagano's woodblock view of 1549 (or from a Venetian engraving derived from it), as it shows Cairo with same bird's eye perspective, and introduces some of the foreground detail. There is a strong resemblance to Braun and Hogenberg's 1572 'Cairos, quae olim Babylon, Aegypti maxima urbs,' especially with the replication of the two riders in the foreground, as well as Donato Bertelli's 'La gran città del Cairo' (Venice, 1575), and Henri de Beauvau's 'Le Grand Caire' in his Relation journaliere du voyage du Levant (Nancy, 1615).
The title cartouche has been partially erased and re-engraved 'Chez H. Iallot [sic] ... au bout du pont neuf proche les g[ran]ds Augustins aux deux Globes 1669'. Jaillot's father-in-law, Nicolas Berey I (c.1606-1665), a sculptor, print- and map-seller, publisher and geographer, had a shop at this address, and Jaillot moved there in 1668 when he bought the stock of his late father-in-law and brother-in-law, Nicolas Berey II (1640-1667) from the estate. Jaillot continued to publish at this address until his death in 1712, when his son, Bernard, took over the business. This would suggest that this map with a Berey imprint might exist, but we have been unable to trace one; nor have we been able to trace another with a Jaillot imprint (there are some false attributions to the printmaker Jacques Callot, c.1592-1635, online, but no institutional records under Jaillot or Callot; in our opinion, the style of engraving is not that of Callot's work). A later Italian version of this map was published by Gioseffo Longhi in Bologna in 1670. This version differs considerably from the present lot, being without border and explanatory texts, lacking two foreground figures, and omitting the title cartouche at upper-left and replacing the text describing the Sphinx with the title 'Gran Cairo 1670.' Cf. Tooley, Dictionary of Mapmakers I, 122 (Berey) and II, 424 (Jaillot).
Engraved map on 2 sheets joined (985 x 397mm). Title cartouche with imprint to upper-left, descriptive text regarding the Sphinx to upper-right, numerous boats on the Nile, irrigation wheels in foreground, some irrigating a garden, pyramids to left and right of image, crocodiles hiding in the reeds to bottom-left, two men riding upon asses in foreground with another scene of a date harvest, military exercises and target practice to left, the whole enclosed within neo-classical border (some expertly repaired tears without loss).
Magnificent unrecorded large-scale bird's eye view of Cairo, possibly unique. This map gives a superb view of the location, architecture and layout of what was then the second-largest city in the Ottoman Empire after Constantinople. The wealth of the current city is depicted by the nobility in fine clothing in the foreground, while the irrigated gardens and date harvest indicate agricultural plenty; the numerous boats on the Nile suggest vibrant trade, while the troop exercises to the left-hand side imply military strength and prowess. The long, ancient history of Egypt is shown with the famous pyramids surrounding the modern city, and the Sphinx, depicted in a very Western fashion, appears to the right with explanatory text.
The map's ancestors are many and varied. Probably most derive from Matteo Pagano's woodblock view of 1549 (or from a Venetian engraving derived from it), as it shows Cairo with same bird's eye perspective, and introduces some of the foreground detail. There is a strong resemblance to Braun and Hogenberg's 1572 'Cairos, quae olim Babylon, Aegypti maxima urbs,' especially with the replication of the two riders in the foreground, as well as Donato Bertelli's 'La gran città del Cairo' (Venice, 1575), and Henri de Beauvau's 'Le Grand Caire' in his Relation journaliere du voyage du Levant (Nancy, 1615).
The title cartouche has been partially erased and re-engraved 'Chez H. Iallot [sic] ... au bout du pont neuf proche les g[ran]ds Augustins aux deux Globes 1669'. Jaillot's father-in-law, Nicolas Berey I (c.1606-1665), a sculptor, print- and map-seller, publisher and geographer, had a shop at this address, and Jaillot moved there in 1668 when he bought the stock of his late father-in-law and brother-in-law, Nicolas Berey II (1640-1667) from the estate. Jaillot continued to publish at this address until his death in 1712, when his son, Bernard, took over the business. This would suggest that this map with a Berey imprint might exist, but we have been unable to trace one; nor have we been able to trace another with a Jaillot imprint (there are some false attributions to the printmaker Jacques Callot, c.1592-1635, online, but no institutional records under Jaillot or Callot; in our opinion, the style of engraving is not that of Callot's work). A later Italian version of this map was published by Gioseffo Longhi in Bologna in 1670. This version differs considerably from the present lot, being without border and explanatory texts, lacking two foreground figures, and omitting the title cartouche at upper-left and replacing the text describing the Sphinx with the title 'Gran Cairo 1670.' Cf. Tooley, Dictionary of Mapmakers I, 122 (Berey) and II, 424 (Jaillot).
Engraved map on 2 sheets joined (985 x 397mm). Title cartouche with imprint to upper-left, descriptive text regarding the Sphinx to upper-right, numerous boats on the Nile, irrigation wheels in foreground, some irrigating a garden, pyramids to left and right of image, crocodiles hiding in the reeds to bottom-left, two men riding upon asses in foreground with another scene of a date harvest, military exercises and target practice to left, the whole enclosed within neo-classical border (some expertly repaired tears without loss).
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