1700 Gerard Valk Map of the Dauphiné Region, France

This is a beautiful c. 1700 map of the Dauphiné region of France, by Dutch cartographer Gerard Valk.

A Closer Look

It details part of the Rhone-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azure regions and the departments of Drome, Isere, and Hautes-Alpes, including the cities of Grenoble, Lyon, and reaches as far east as Pignerol (Pinerolo). Here, that city is French territory, at the extreme of the Balliage de Briancon.This part of the Piedmont had been taken by the French during the Thirty Years' War (1618 - 1648). It was supposed to have been returned to Savoy in 1696, according to the Treaty of Turin although that change is not reflected here.

A Beautiful Engraving

Although printed at the beginning of the 18th-century, this is engraved in the classic Dutch style of the late 17th-century. The title cartouche in the upper right is elegant, and styled as a garlanded plinth. In the background are mountains, evoking the region's alpine terrain.

The Dauphiné, known as the playground of Europe's elite, is admired for its stunning natural beauty, distinctive culture, superb cuisine, delightful beaches, and fantastic wines. Isere is known for its production of Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage, a mild cow's milk blue cheese, and Saint-Marcellin, a softer cheese, while Drome is famous for its production of Picodon, a spicy goats-milk cheese. The Hautes Alpes area of France is known for its production of Coteaux and Collines Rhodaniennes wines, and is also famous for its chestnuts.

This area also houses a number of vineyards. Here you will find the AOC Coteaux varois en Provence, which produces a wide variety of reds and whites. The red wines principally use the grenache, cinsaut, mourvedre and syrah grapes. White wines use the clairette, grenache blanc, rolle blanc, Semillon Blanc, and Ugni Blanc.

Publication History and Census

This map was engraved by Gerard Valk for inclusion in his atlases. It is typically dated 1700 to 1710, corresponding with Valk's atlases, but it is not known when it was actually executed, and may have been as much as 20 years earlier, as Valk's maps were included in composite atlases throughout the latter seventeenth century.