1840 Daussy Nautical Map of the Philippines, Celebes, and Maluku Islands

Pierre Daussy (October 8, 1792 - September 5, 1860) was a French astronomer and hydrographic engineer with the Bureau des Longitudes and later the Dépôt des Cartes et Plans de la Marine, which he led as Director in the years prior to his death. Daussy was born in Paris, the son of hydrographer Magloire Thomas Daussy (1758 - 1826). He followed in his father's footsteps, studying at the École des Ingénieurs Hydrographes before undertaking hydrographic work in the North Sea under the command of Charles-François Beautemps-Beaupré. He graduated to the rank of engineer in 1819 and chief engineer in 1829. In 1833, he began work with the Bureau des Longitudes correcting the French Table des Positions Géographiques des Principaux Lieux du Globe to conform with the most recent measurements made possible by new hydrographic instruments and methodologies. He was elected Director of the Dépôt des Cartes et Plans de la Marine in 1855. He also served as the President of the Société de Géographie de Paris in his later years and published several works on hydrography and navigation, particularly relating to the coasts of the Ottoman Empire and Persia. More by this mapmaker...

Dépôt des Cartes et Plans de la Marine (fl. 1720 - present), often called the Dépôt de Marine, was a French hydrographic mapping organization founded in 1720 under Charles-Hercule of Albert de Luynes (1674 - 1734). Much like the U.S. Coast Survey, the British Admiralty, and the Spanish Deposito Hydrografico, the Dépôt was initiated as a storehouse and distribution center of existing nautical and marine charts. Eventually the Dépôt initiated its own mapping activities in an attempt to improve and expand upon existing material. Some of the more prominent cartographers and hydrographers associated with the of Dépôt des Cartes were, Philippe Buache, Jacques-Nicholas Bellin, Giovanni Rizzi-Zannoni, Rigobert Bonne, and Jean Nicolas Buache. Learn More...

Jacques-Marie Hacq (September 22, 1785 – 18??) was a French letter and line engraver, and historian, active in Paris during the middle part of the 19th century. Hacq was born in Paris and trained under J. P. Besançon, who he succeeded at the Dépôt de la Guerre in 1830. He engraved for the Dépôt de la Guerre as early as 1830 and for the Dépôt des Cartes et Plans de la Marine from, at least, 1840 to 1852. In addition to his work for the French Government, he also completed maps and engravings for Lesage, Lapie, Dufour, Duperrez, Gouvion St. Cyr, and Dumont d'Urville. His historical works include a history of the Napoleonic Wars and a history of Paris under the reign of Louis XIII. During most of his career in Paris he lived at 58 Rue de la Harpe. Learn More...

Chassant (fl. c. 1830 - 1860) was a French line and chart engraver active in Paris in the middle part of the 19th century. Chassant was active with the French Dépôt de Marine from the 1830s into the 1860s. He was a master engraver and, some have argued, his dramatic hachuring work to illustrate topography suggests he may have been wasted on nautical charts. Most of his engraving was completed in partnerships with Jacques-Marie Hacq (September 22, 1785 – 18??). Chassant did not sign any of his engravings with a first name or other identifier, so it is difficult to track him down. He may be Alphonse Antoine Louis Chassant (August 1, 1808 - September 7, 1907), who in later life was an art historian and librarian of the city of Évreux. He wrote several books, including works on engraving. We cannot alas verify the connection and it may be pure guesswork. Learn More...