Les Isles Terceres

Uncommon map of the Azores, with an inset of Terceira.

Pierre Duval was born in Abbeville in 1619. He began his cartographic career in Paris, studying under his uncle, the famous geographer Nicolas Sanson. He soon found himself employed producing maps for the publisher Pierre Mariette, copying Willelm J. Blaeu's Dutch maps for the French market. In 1650, he was awarded the title of "geographe du Roy." According to royal letters found among his papers, in 1683 Duval was employed as an official in the Maison du Roi. His editorial collaboration with Mariette lasted until 1654, when Duval married Marie Desmaretz, the daughter of a wealthy merchant. The dowry of over 2,000 books that his wife brought him enabled him to open his own publishing business. He settled in Paris and produced maps and cartographic documents for several Parisian publishers; during this period, he no longer signed his works as d'Abbeville. Duval provided manuscripts to Nicolas Berey, Girard Joillan, Nicolas Langlois, Estienne Vouillement, and Antoine de Fer. His first geographical atlas was published in 1654 under the title Cartes géographiques méthodiquement divisées (Global Geographical Maps, Methodically Divided), and consisted of a small corpus of his original maps, supplemented by reprints or replicas by other French and Dutch cartographers of the time. The atlas was reprinted in 1655 and 1667, with an ever-increasing number of original works, until the 1677 edition contained exclusively Duval's maps.

Engraved by Sommer. Du Val is mentioned as the cartographer and the publisher was Pierre Mariette.

Copperplate with fine later hand colour, good condition.