Guillaume Danet’s 1727 old map of London, Westminster and Southwark with French text and architectural vignettes

Old Map of London 1727 – Guillaume Danet

Name: Old Map of London 1727 – Guillaume Danet
SKU: 9584173578
Availability: InStock

Price range: £29.95 through £39.95

Guillaume Danet’s Plan of London, Westminster and Southwark, 1727

Published in Paris in 1727 by Guillaume Danet, this unusually decorative plan presents London, Westminster and Southwark for a French audience. Its original title, Plan de la Ville de Londres et de Westminster avec le Bourg de Soutwark, leurs Faubourgs et leurs Environs, makes clear that the map was intended to show not only the central city but its suburbs and surrounding districts as well.

The coverage stretches from Islington in the north to Lambeth on the south bank of the Thames, and from Hyde Park in the west to the eastern approaches around Mile End. London’s main streets, churches, public buildings, gates and river stairs are shown within a carefully engraved framework, while gardens and open ground reveal how much of the surrounding landscape was still undeveloped in the early eighteenth century.

Two architectural vignettes add considerable character: the Monument appears at the lower left, and St Mary-le-Bow at the lower right. A numbered reference list beneath the map identifies more than one hundred important places and buildings, turning the image into a practical guide as well as a decorative city plan.

The French text is itself historically interesting. Place names and explanations were translated for continental readers, showing London as an object of international curiosity at a time when the city was rapidly rebuilding and expanding after the seventeenth century.

For anyone interested in Georgian London, French cartography or early eighteenth-century views of the capital, Danet’s map is one of the most distinctive plans in the collection.

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Description

Guillaume Danet’s 1727 plan of London is a French-produced city map of unusual richness, combining a clear street plan with architectural views, a reference key and extensive explanatory text.

Map Details

Publisher: Guillaume Danet
Date: 1727
Place of publication: Paris
Original title: Plan de la Ville de Londres et de Westminster avec le Bourg de Soutwark, leurs Faubourgs et leurs Environs
Language: French
Coverage: London, Westminster, Southwark and surrounding suburbs

London for a Continental Audience

The map was produced in Paris and explains London in French, making it an especially interesting example of how the British capital was presented to European readers. Important London places were translated or described for an audience that may never have visited the city.

The City, Westminster and Southwark

The built-up centre occupies both banks of the Thames, with the City and Westminster forming the principal northern districts and Southwark extending south of London Bridge. Beyond them lie gardens, open ground and suburban roads that would later disappear beneath London’s expansion.

The Monument and St Mary-le-Bow

The architectural vignettes of the Monument and St Mary-le-Bow are among the map’s most memorable decorative features. Both were strongly associated with the rebuilt City after the Great Fire of 1666 and would have been instantly recognisable symbols of London.

A Map Designed for Reference

Grid lines and the long numbered key make the plan practical as well as attractive. Streets, churches, hospitals, public buildings and gateways can be located systematically, giving the viewer a structured guide to the early Georgian capital.

Supplied unframed as a fine art print.