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1780 Bocage Map of Olympia or Olympus, Ancient Greece
Olympia-bocage-1791$175.00
Title
Essai sur la Topographie d'Olympie dresse uniquement sur le rapport des Auteurs Anciens, Pour le Voyage du Jeune Anacharsis.
1780 (dated) 8 x 12 in (20.32 x 30.48 cm)
1780 (dated) 8 x 12 in (20.32 x 30.48 cm)
Description
This is a fascinating 1780 map or plan of Olympia (Olympus) in Ancient Greece. The map details the site of the ancient Olympics and notes many important buildings and structures, including the stadium, the hippodrome, the Temple of Jupiter (Zeus). This is also the place where the great Statue of Zeus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was erected. The Alpheios River is seen near the bottom of the map. Prepared by M. Barbie de Bocage in 1780 to illustrate the Travels of Anacharsis.
Anacharsis was a Scythian philosopher who travelled from his homeland on the northern shores of the Black Sea to Athens in the early 6th century BCe. Apparently he made a great impression on the Greeks, who considered him a forthright, outspoken 'barbarian. He is considered a forerunner of the Cynics.
Anacharsis was a Scythian philosopher who travelled from his homeland on the northern shores of the Black Sea to Athens in the early 6th century BCe. Apparently he made a great impression on the Greeks, who considered him a forthright, outspoken 'barbarian. He is considered a forerunner of the Cynics.
Cartographer
Jean Denis Barbie du Bocage (1760 - 1825) and his son Jean-Guillaume Barbie du Bocage (1795 - 1848) were French cartographers and cosmographers active in Paris during late 18th and early 19th centuries. The elder Barbie du Bocage, Jean Denis, was trained as a cartographer and engraver in the workshops of mapmaking legend J. B. B. d'Anville. At some point Jean Denis held the post of Royal Librarian of France and it was through is associations with d'Anville that the d'Anville collection of nearly 9000 maps was acquired by French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The younger Barbie du Bocage, Jean-Guillaume, acquired a position shortly afterwards at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, in time, became its head, with the title of Geographe du Ministere des Affaires Etrangeres. More by this mapmaker...
Source
Barbie du Bocage, J. D., Recueil de Cartes Geographiques Plans, Vues, et Medailles de l'Ancienne Grece, Reelatifs au Voyage du Jeune Anacharsis., (Paris, Chez Sanson et Compagnie), 1791.
Condition
Very good. Original platemark visible. Original centerfold. Blank on verso. Dark clean impression.