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1868 Barreau Map of the Suez Canal Route, Egypt - one year before it opened
SuezCanal-barreau-1868$475.00
![Percement de L'Isthme de Suez. / [Suez Canal.] - Main View](https://www.geographicus.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/L/SuezCanal-barreau-1868.jpg)
![Percement de L'Isthme de Suez. / [Suez Canal.] - Alternate View 1](https://www.geographicus.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/L/SuezCanal-barreau-1868-image2.jpg)
![Percement de L'Isthme de Suez. / [Suez Canal.] - Alternate View 2](https://www.geographicus.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/L/SuezCanal-barreau-1868-image3.jpg)
![Percement de L'Isthme de Suez. / [Suez Canal.] - Main View Thumbnail](https://www.geographicus.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/S/SuezCanal-barreau-1868-S.jpg)
![Percement de L'Isthme de Suez. / [Suez Canal.] - Alternate View 1 Thumbnail](https://www.geographicus.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/S/SuezCanal-barreau-1868-image2-S.jpg)
![Percement de L'Isthme de Suez. / [Suez Canal.] - Alternate View 2 Thumbnail](https://www.geographicus.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/S/SuezCanal-barreau-1868-image3-S.jpg)
Title
Percement de L'Isthme de Suez. / [Suez Canal.]
1868 (dated) 12.5 x 34.5 in (31.75 x 87.63 cm) 1 : 200000
1868 (dated) 12.5 x 34.5 in (31.75 x 87.63 cm) 1 : 200000
Description
This is a dramatic large map of the Suez Canal, Egypt, issued in 1868, a year before the canal opened to commercial traffic. The map accompanies a scarce publication by L. Barreau, a French civil engineer based in Alexandria, describing the monumental undertaking.
A third major canal, the Pharoah's Canal, is also illustrated. Although begun by earlier pharaohs, the canal was completed under Pharaoh Necho II (610 - 595 BCE) of the 26th Dynasty and later restored by Persian Emperor Darius I (550 - 486 BCE). It followed a route through the Wadi Tumilat, starting from near the ancient city of Bubastis (modern-day Zagazig) on the Nile and extending eastward to the Red Sea, near the site of modern-day Suez. The canal fell into disuse and disrepair by the early Islamic period and was eventually abandoned. Nonetheless, excavations on the Pharoah's Canal inspired modern engineering efforts, including the Suez Canal. The Ismailia Canal also partially follows the route of the ancient Pharaoh's Canal.
Below the map, along the bottom or right side, depending on how the map is oriented, is a profile chart illustrating the mostly sea-level course of the canal route.
A Closer Look
The map, which is oriented north-south despite our presenting it on its side, highlights the route of the Canal from Suez to Port Saïd, as well as the adjacent Ismailia Canal (also known as the Al-Suways al-Ḥulwah Canal or the Sweetwater Canal). The secondary canal, Ismailia, was completed in 1863, connecting the Nile to Suez, Ismailia, and Port Said, where fresh water was scarce. It was a major infrastructure project, essential to support the massive workforce required to construct the Suez Canal, as well as irrigating thousands of acres of otherwise arid land.A third major canal, the Pharoah's Canal, is also illustrated. Although begun by earlier pharaohs, the canal was completed under Pharaoh Necho II (610 - 595 BCE) of the 26th Dynasty and later restored by Persian Emperor Darius I (550 - 486 BCE). It followed a route through the Wadi Tumilat, starting from near the ancient city of Bubastis (modern-day Zagazig) on the Nile and extending eastward to the Red Sea, near the site of modern-day Suez. The canal fell into disuse and disrepair by the early Islamic period and was eventually abandoned. Nonetheless, excavations on the Pharoah's Canal inspired modern engineering efforts, including the Suez Canal. The Ismailia Canal also partially follows the route of the ancient Pharaoh's Canal.
Below the map, along the bottom or right side, depending on how the map is oriented, is a profile chart illustrating the mostly sea-level course of the canal route.
Publication History and Census
This map was engraved by Erhard and printed in Paris by Lemercier to accompany for L. Barreau's 1868 L'Egypte et le Percement de L'Isthme de Suez (Alexandria: Imprimerie Nouvelle). Scarce. We note just two examples in OCLC and no market history.CartographerS
L. Barreau (fl. c. 1865 - 1870) was a French engineer based in Alexandria. We have unearthed little about this elusive figure. He issued one beautifully surveyed map of Alexandria and a pamphlet on the Suez Canal, both in 1868. More by this mapmaker...
Georges Erhard Schièble (1823 – November 23, 1880) was a German printer active in Paris during the middle to late 19th century. Erhard was born in Forchheim, Baden-Württemberg, and relocated to Paris in his 16th year, where he apprenticed under his cousin, an engraver and mapmaker. In 1852, after 6 years with the Royal Printing Office, he started his own business. Around this time, he also became a naturalized French citizen. From his offices on Rue Bonaparte, he produced several important maps, and a detailed topography of Gaul for Napoleon III's History of Julius Caesar. In 1865 he took on larger offices expanding his operations to include a lithographic press. He was among the first to introduce printed color maps and pioneered photo-reduction, including the process known as Erhard reproduction. After Erhard's death in 1880, the firm was taken over by his sons and run under the imprint of 'Erhard Frères' until 1911. Learn More...
Rose-Joseph Lemercier (June 29, 1803 - 1887) was a French photographer, lithographer, and printer. One of the most important Parisian lithographers of the 19th century, Lemercier was born in Paris into a family of seventeen children. His father was a basket maker, and he even began working as a basket maker at the age of fifteen, but Lemercier was drawn to lithography and printing and soon entered into an apprenticeship with Langlumé, where he worked from 1822 until 1825. After working for a handful of other printers, Lemercier started his own firm in 1828 at 2, rue Pierre Sarrazin with only one printing press. He subsequently moved a few more times before arriving at 57, rue de Seine, where he founded the printing firm Lemercier and Company. He created the firm Lemercier, Bénard and Company in 1837 with Jean François Bénard. Lemercier bought out Bénard's share in the firm in 1843 and, since his two sons died at a young age, he decided to bring his nephew Alfred into the business beginning in 1862, who would progressively take on more and more responsibility in running the firm. Between 1850 and 1870, Lemercier's firm was the largest lithographic company in Paris. The firm began to decline in prestige in the early 1870s, and, after Lemercier's death in 1887, its descent only quickened. It is unclear when the firm closed, but Alfred directed the firm until his death in 1901. Learn More...
Source
Barreau, L., L'Égypte et le Percement de L'Isthme de Suez avec Une Carte du Canal Maritime et de ses Dépendances, (Alexandria: Imprimerie Nouvelle) 1868.
Condition
Good. A few closed tears repaired on verso. Accompanying volume good, with some wear to gilt-stamped brown linen binding, especially at rear where the map was originally attached.
References
OCLC 42522017.