DELISLE, Guillaume (1675–1726) — *La Pologne*. Amsterdam: Johannes Covens & Cornelis Mortier, ca. 1730.

DELISLE, Guillaume (1675–1726) — *La Pologne*. Amsterdam: Johannes Covens & Cornelis Mortier, ca. 1730.

Hand-colored copperplate engraving, paper, 495 × 625 mm, on a sheet measuring 530 × 650 mm. Blank reverse. Traces of atlas folding; crease in the paper on the left side of the fold; numbers written in ink in the upper corners.

Guillaume de l’Isle (1675–1726) was a French cartographer and geographer, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the development of modern scientific cartography. He placed particular emphasis on the use of astronomical observations and the critical evaluation of geographical sources, creating influential maps of Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. His works marked a significant shift away from inherited cartographic traditions toward greater geographical accuracy and played an important role in the development of European cartography in the 18th century.

An attractive map of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, first published in Paris in 1702, with references to Guillaume Le Vasseur de Beauplan, Szymon Starowolski, Christoph Hartknock, and Johannes Hevelius. Starowolski was primarily a historian, although later editions of his description of Poland included an important map by Beauplan; Hartknoch was also a historian, and his works contained valuable geographical information. The map depicts the entire Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, from the shores of the Baltic Sea and the Duchy of Courland in the north to Ukraine and the borders of Little Tartary in the south, from Pomerania and Prussia in the west to Moscow and the Duchy of Smolensk in the east. Regional divisions are distinguished by hand-coloring, with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania marked in pink and the Ruthenian provinces in green. In the lower left corner is a richly decorated cartouche featuring allegorical figures and horses.

This piece was published by the Amsterdam mapmakers Johannes Covens and Cornelis Mortier, who added a somewhat scholarly Latin title to the map while retaining the original French title. The map was included in their “Atlas Nouveau” around 1730.

Imago Poloniae, K.37/1–14.