Maps
The Map Department contains many topographic and thematic maps and atlases of France and its regions dating from the 16th century to the present. It also has gazetteers and books on the cartography of France.
Essai géographique sur les isles britanniques contenant une description de l'Angleterre l'Ecosse et l'Irlande... Par M. Bellin. A Paris, de l'imprimerie de Didot. MDCCLVII [1742]. 7500.b.4
"L'Angleterre, ou isles britanniques. Ce Royaume, situé dans l'Océan septentrionnal, est composé de deux grandes isles, dont une contient l'Angleterre & l'Ecosse ; la seconde est l'Irlande [...]. Il paroît que ce royaume fut d'abord habité par les Gaulois : les anciens l'appeloient Albion & il prit ensuite celui de Bretagne..."
Essai géographique sur les isles britanniques... Par M. Bellin. A Paris, de l'imprimerie de Didot. MDCCLVII [1742]. (7500.b.4).
How to search for material relating to French studies
Remember to search both Newton and the Map Department's own card catalogue.
You can find items related to France and its former colonies in the card catalogue under geographical headings or author headings. The geographical headings are organised by scale, date or topic such as agriculture, economy, linguistics, colonies, trade, guide books, geology, geophysics, history, roads and railways and population. Please note that a specific place (e.g. Besançon) is not referenced under "France", but under its exact geographical heading only. You can find French cartographers in the author's card catalogue.
You can find French cartographers in the author's card catalogue. French cartographers represented include: Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville, Jacques-Nicolas Bellin, Guillaume Delisle, César-François Cassini de Thury, Nicolas Sanson d'Abbeville and Guillaume Sanson, Gilles and Didier Robert de Vaugondy and to a lesser extent, Jacques Bertin, Rigobert Bonne, Etienne Duperac, Louis Isidore Duperrey, Louis Feuillée, Victor Levasseur, Alain Manesson Mallet, Victor-Adolphe Malte-Brun, Ambroise and Jean-Baptiste-Pierre Tardieu. There are also copies of maps by Oronce Fine and Pierre Desceliers.
See http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/deptserv/maps/index.html for further details about the Map Department collections and http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/deptserv/maps/catalogues.html for more information on how to search Newton and the Map Department's card catalogue for cartographic items.
Other resources
- Search for a map in COPAC.
- Maps of the former French colonies held in the RCS collections.
- France - Code officiel géographique: Small scale maps and statistics for French administrative areas.