1895 Bureau Topographique Map of Lang Son, Vietnam

A rare 1895 map of the Lạng Sơn region in northern Vietnam, off the Gulf of Tonkin and along the northern border with China. The map was issued by the Bureau Topographique des Troupes de l'Indo-Chine and is sheet 7 of the Carte de L'Indo-Chine, an otherwise lost large-scale French military survey of the region. The area covered here, the northeastern coastal section of the Gulf of Tonkin and the mountainous region as far as the city of Lạng Sơn, is considered one of the most beautiful places on Earth. The map is the work of surveys completed between 1886 and 1887 by French topographic officer Dominique Eugène Paul Balagny, and in 1886 along the Chinese border by a mysterious 'Lieutenant Privè.'

Lạng Sơn: Vietnam's Gateway to China

Lạng Sơn, both the province and the city, are considered to be among the most beautiful places in the world, known for monolithic limestone mountains, dramatic jungle covered islands, spectacular waterfalls, and centuries old rice terraces. In addition, due to its geography as Vietnam's gateway to China, Lạng Sơn and its ancient citadel have been in the path of many invasions, and were the site of three French defeats during the colonial era. Lạng Sơn was occupied by Qing forces during the military buildup that preceded the Sino-French War, and again by France after the February 1885 Lạng Sơn Campaign.

Carte de L'Indo-Chine

The Carte de L'Indo-Chine is an elusive but impressive military survey of the entirety of French Indo-China published between 1892 and 1895. Presented on a staggering scale of 1:200000, the full set contained over 50 individual sheets. We have been unable to trace any complete sets, with even a search at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France Catalogue Général (BnF) turning up no other examples of this magnificent production. Nor is it clear if the full survey was completed. What we know is that it was issued by the Bureau Topographique des Troupes de l'Indo-Chine based upon surveys completed by Dominique Eugène Paul Balagny (1863 - 1948) between 1889 and 1991, earlier Indo-chine military surveys, and new surveys completed by Bureau expeditionary teams between 1886 and 1893. We have found but one reference to this work, a vague note in an 1898 collection recording the correspondence of the service during the previous 10 years. That note merely suggests that 1:200000 map was planned as early as 1888. Although all sheets are undated, they were most likely printed in Hanoi after 1890, when the Bureau Topographique acquired a local press. Stylistic variations between maps in the series, for example, how large bodies of water are shaded, suggests that they may have also employed external presses.

Publication History and Census

Although undated, this was most likely issued in 1895, in Hanoi, by the Bureau Topographique des Troupes de l'Indo-Chine. The map is sheet no. 7 of a massive 1:200000 topographical survey of Indochina containing at least 50 sheets, of which this is only one of 5 known surviving sheets. No institutional or private holdings have been identified.