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1890 Vorzet Map of Washington, D.C. and Northeastern Virginia

WashingtonBullRun-dumasvorzet-1890
$187.50
Environs de Washington et du Bull Run. - Main View
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1890 Vorzet Map of Washington, D.C. and Northeastern Virginia

WashingtonBullRun-dumasvorzet-1890

An Imperiled Capital.

Title


Environs de Washington et du Bull Run.
  1890 (undated)     17.5 x 24.75 in (44.45 x 62.865 cm)     1 : 125000

Description


This is an 1890 Dumas Vorzet map of Washington, D.C., and its environs in eastern Virginia, the scene for multiple important battles during the American Civil War (1861 - 1865), issued as part of the scarce atlas volume of the French edition of Philippe d'Orléans' Histoire de la Guerre Civile en Amérique.
A Closer Look
The map covers portions of Maryland (including 'Maryland College' - later the University of Maryland at College Park), Virginia, and the entirety of the District of Columbia. The main focus is on military facilities (especially forts), roads, railways (including those under construction), and important government buildings. However, individual buildings of a different nature are also illustrated and, in some cases, labeled, while waterways, hills, and terrain are also indicated. Dumas Vorzet employs an interesting combination of English and French terminology for placenames (Maison Blanche, Chantiers de la marine, Station de Falls Church).

This map depicts the location for several major U.S. Civil War battles, including those around Manassas Junction (note the 'Ouvrages Confédérés' nearby). The First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861 was the earliest major battle of the war, resulting in a Confederate victory after a disorganized fight. The Second Battle of Bull Run the following August was larger and much more deadly (roughly ten times the number of casualties as its predecessor) and also resulted in a Confederate victory.
Publication History and Census
This map was drafted by Ernest Dumas-Vorzet, engraved by Louis Wuhrer, printed by Becquet, and published by Michel Lévy in Paris for the 1890 French edition of Philippe d'Orléans' Histoire de la Guerre Civile en Amérique. The atlas supplement, of which this map was part, was issued only with the 1890 French publication and not included in any of the earlier English editions. In this edition, the entire work is uncommon in institutional collections, with only 3 being identified in OCLC, and is scarce to the market. Most examples lack the atlas, which in OCLC appears only at the Boston Athenaeum. Minimal market history.

CartographerS


Ernest Dumas-Vorzet (18?? - 18??) was a French line and letter engraver active in Paris in the late 19th century. He engraved the lettering on nautical charts for the Dépôt des Cartes et Plans de la Marine. His later work is often associated with Émile Delaune (18?? - 19??) and Hachette et Cie. He is likely the father of Edouard Dumas-Vorzet, a French publisher and cartographer. More by this mapmaker...


Frédéric Louis Charles Wuhrer (1844 - 1925) was a French cartographer, engraver, and artist. He lived in the town of Buc, France, where he purchased the former Town Hall. Wuhrer is better known as a landscape artist, with a strong record at auctions. Little is known of his engraving work, but the Bibliothèque nationale de France has over one hundred pieces in their collection attributed to his name. Learn More...


Louis-Philippe-Albert d'Orléans, Comte de Paris (August 24, 1838 - September 8, 1894) was a French prince, scholar, officer in the American Civil War (1861 - 1865), and unofficially King of France (February 24, 1848). Louis-Philippe-Albert was the grandson of French king, Louis Philippe I of the house of Orléans. With the advent of the French Second Republic (1848 - 1852), Louis-Philippe-Albert and his family fled to the United States. Louis-Philippe-Albert became an outspoken journalist who, when the Civil War broke out, volunteered to serve in the Union Army, being instantly appointed assistant adjutant general under General George McClellan with the rank of captain. During his service, he used the abbreviated name Philippe d'Orléans. He served in the Peninsular Campaign, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater, but resigned from service in July 1862. Later, he wrote a History of the Civil War in America, published in 1875. He returned to Europe in 1864, where in England, he married his paternal first cousin, Princess Marie Isabelle d'Orléans (1848–1919), Infanta of Spain. In 1871, after the Franco-Prussian War and the downfall of Napoleon III, they were allowed to return to France, and many of their properties were restored. He renounced all claims to the French throne in 1873 but was still considered by some Orléanists as Philippe VII of France. In 1886, the prince and his family again went into exile in London, where he died in 1894. Learn More...


Michel Lévy (1821 - May 4, 1875) was a French publisher and founder of the Michel Lévy Frères publishing house. Born in Phalsbourg in the Moselle to a bookseller (colporteur), he began selling books in Paris at the age of fifteen under the name Michel Lévy Frères. Although his brothers Kalmus (Calmann) and Nathan were sometimes involved in his business, Michel was the primary bookseller and later publisher. Initially, Lévy focused on works relating to the theater, but later expanded into literature, periodicals, and other fields. By the 1860s, Michel Lévy Frères was one of the major publishers in France, putting out works by the likes of Honoré de Balzac, Gustave Flaubert, and Victor Hugo. Michel Lévy was inducted into the Légion d'Honneur in 1873, but died unexpectedly two years later. Afterwards, his brother took charge of the firm, then renamed Calmann Lévy (sometimes as Calmann-Lévy), and it continued its success as a leading publisher in France. In 1893, Calmann turned over the business to his three sons, Georges, Paul, and Gaston, who ran it until the Second World War, when Gaston was interned by the Nazis and the publishing house was renamed Editions Balzac. After the war, the firm continued and still exists today as a subsidiary of Hachette. Learn More...

Source


Orleans, Louis-Philippe-Albert d', Histoire de la Guerre Civile en Amérique, par M. le comte de Paris (Paris: Michel Lévy) 1890.    

Condition


Good. Some centerfold discoloration. Laid on old linen.

References


LC Civil War Maps (2nd ed.), 80. Library of Congress G1201.S5 P3 1890.