Charles de Wailly (November 9, 1730 - November 2, 1798) was a French architect, civil engineer, and painter, known for his late 18th century neoclassical architecture in and around Paris. Born in Paris, he trained under leading architects of his time and became a member of the prestigious Académie Royale d'Architecture. De Wailly was a key figure in the neoclassical movement, influencing French architecture with a refined sense of proportion and classical form. His notable works include the Théâtre de l’Odéon and renovations of Château de Fontainebleau. He is less well known for his grandiose urban planning visions, likely because none of them came to fruition. De Wailly envisioned a sweeping transformation of the Parisian landscape intended not only to beautify Paris but also to optimize the efficiency of its urban space. His visions included the creation of wide new avenues, the construction of public squares, the erection of monuments, the expansion of housing, the unification of the city’s islands (Cité, Saint-Louis, and Louviers), and improvements to the flow of the Seine. These were presented and met with approval at the Salon of 1789, and may have gone forward, but De Wailly had terrible timing - the troubles later that year (the onset of the French Revolution) put an end to Louis XVI's royal investment in, well, anything. More by this mapmaker...

Alexis-Hubert Jaillot (c. 1632 - 1712) followed Nicholas Sanson (1600 - 1667) and his descendants in ushering in the great age of French Cartography in the late 17th and 18th century. The publishing center of the cartographic world gradually transitioned from Amsterdam to Paris following the disastrous inferno that destroyed the preeminent Blaeu firm in 1672. Hubert Jaillot was born in Franche-Comte and trained as a sculptor. When he married the daughter of the enlumineur de ala Reine, Nicholas Berey, he found himself positioned to inherit a lucrative map and print publishing firm. When Nicholas Sanson, the premier French cartographer of the day, died Jaillot negotiated with his heirs, particularly Guillaume Sanson (1633 - 1703), to republish much of Sanson's work. Though not a cartographer himself, Jaillot's access to the Sanson plates enabled him to publish numerous maps and atlases with only slight modifications and updates to the plates. As a sculptor and an artist, Jaillot's maps were particularly admired for their elaborate and meaningful allegorical cartouches and other decorative elements. Jaillot used his allegorical cartouche work to extol the virtues of the Sun King Louis IV, and his military and political triumphs. These earned him the patronage of the French crown who used his maps in the tutoring of the young Dauphin. In 1686 he was awarded the title of Geographe du Roi, bearing with it significant prestige and the yearly stipend of 600 Livres. Jaillot was one of the last French map makers to acquire this title. Louis XV, after taking the throne, replaced the position with the more prestigious and singular title of Premier Geographe du Roi. Jaillot died in Paris in 1712. His most important work was his 1693 Le Neptune Francois. Jalliot was succeed by his son, Bernard-Jean-Hyacinthe Jaillot (1673 - 1739), grandson, Bernard-Antoine Jaillot (???? – 1749) and the latter's brother-in-law, Jean Baptiste-Michel Renou de Chauvigné-Jaillot (1710 - 1780). Learn More...