Atlas Historique (1739)
Since the 1450s, Northern Italy had been seen as the cultural hub of Europe through its famous "Renaissance"; however, by the 1720s, French Baroque had surpassed this style and had become the most dominant and luxurious style of artwork, architecture, and music amongst economic and political elites. The city of Paris and the Palace of Versailles would become the seat of this artistic movement. An even further move away from Italian cultural dominance came as the Dutch, particularly the city of Amsterdam, became the hub of bookmaking on the continent. In fact, by the beginning of the 1700s, Dutch bookmakers had hit their peak dominance, outputting more books into the market than any other European state combined had. These two powerful cultural forces would meld together in this month's Item of the Month, Henri Abraham Chatelain's Atlas Historique.
Born in Paris, H. A. Chatelain (1684 - 1743) came from a line of Huguenot craftsmen. He would go on to move to London around 1710 due to French anti-Protestant persecution. He would become a Huguenot pastor in St. Martins, London, for ten years before moving to the Hague in 1721 and finally to Amsterdam in 1728. Chatelain along with his relatives (some of which already been exiled to Holland for their faith) would form a partnership and produce one of the most expansive atlases of the time, Atlas Historique.
This massive 7-book volume would detail the history, chronology, and geography of Europe and the known world at the time. In our Item of the Month and first volume, Chatelain recounts the history of Greece, ancient and modern Rome, Naples, France, Spain, and the United Provinces, known today as The Netherlands. These nations and cities are placed into sections, each with a brief History and a highly detailed map of the country. There is also a chronology of every Ancient Roman Consul, Pope, and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. A listing of every major European Dynasty can also be found within. These listings as well as maps are fold-ups that can be folded back out to a massive rectangle equaling around two and a half times the size of an already massive book page.
Looking through the maps contained within the atlas, there are several interesting characteristics. One of which is the boxy and jaggedness of coastlines. Anatolia for example appears more like a hard rectangle than its oval reality. Another fun quirk would be the descriptions of the wonders of the world and their images within the books. The Pyramids of Giza look strangely European and more like an obelisk. It is also important to point out that areas in Cascadia and Australia are left black since they had not been discovered yet.
Special Collections at The University of Southern Mississippi has five Volumes of Atlas Historique by Henri Abraham Chatelain, 1739. If you would like to view these books, visit the reading room on the third floor of McCain Library & Archives from 9am – 4pm Monday-Friday. If you have any questions, contact Jennifer Brannock at or 601.266.4347.
Sources consulted
- Erik Franken, "Stamboom Franken", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/stamboon-franken/I6961.php : accessed October 5, 2022), "Henri Abraham Chatelain (1684-1743)".
- Carta Historica, Atlas historique, ... Châtelain by H/Z Châtelain - CartaHistorica
- Australian National Maritime Museum, 2018, Henri Abraham Chatelain | People | The Collection | Australian National Maritime Museum (sea.museum)
- Classical Images, 2022, Henri Abraham Chatelain – Classical Images
- Amanda Vickery, The Guardian, 2015, From baroque to bling: how France became king of high style | Art and design | The Guardian
- Paul G. Hoftijze, European History Online, 2015, The Dutch Republic, Centre of the European Book Trade in the 17th Century — EGO (ieg-ego.eu)
Text by Cameron Melendez, sophomore, history and political science major
**Items of the Month featured in 2022 and part of 2024 will be the work of Southenr Miss students who took HON 303, a seminar held in Fall 2022 focusing on archives and special collections.