Levasseur Antique Map of the Ain Department of Eastern France
This engraved and hand-colored 19th Century map from Levasseur’s Illustrated Atlas of France depicts the Département de l’Ain, shown within its regional context along the eastern frontier of France, bordered by Switzerland and the Jura Mountains. The department is divided into its administrative arrondissements and cantons, with roads, rivers, and neighboring departments clearly indicated. Decorative vignettes illustrate agriculture, trade, and regional life, including livestock, rural labor, and symbolic figures, reflecting the economic and cultural identity of the Ain in the early nineteenth century. The map also situates the department in relation to Geneva and the Swiss borderlands, emphasizing the cross-border geography of the Pays de Gex and surrounding areas.
Condition: This map has been cut to the edges as shown, removing its outer, unprinted margins.
Dimensions: The dimensions of the sheet as cut are 43 cm x 31 cm
Date of Publication: 1847
Victor Jules Levasseur was a leading French cartographer of the mid-19th century, celebrated for maps that combine precise geographic information with rich allegorical and regional imagery. His work belongs to a period when cartography was closely linked to education, national identity, and visual storytelling.
Levasseur is best known for the Atlas National Illustré des 86 Départements et des Possessions de la France, first published in 1847. This ambitious atlas presented each département with detailed mapping surrounded by decorative vignettes illustrating local agriculture, industries, landscapes, and customs. These elements were designed to make geography both informative and visually engaging, reflecting contemporary interest in regional character and economic life.
The ornamental scenes surrounding many of the maps were drawn by Raymond Bonheur, a respected painter and the father of the celebrated artist Rosa Bonheur. Bonheur’s illustrations contribute significantly to the atlas’s distinctive appearance, grounding the maps in vivid representations of rural labor and everyday life. Individual plate credits are noted where visible.
Highly sought after by collectors, Levasseur’s departmental maps are admired for their exceptional decorative borders, detailed regional content, and their ability to combine cartography with scenes of everyday life and production in 19th-century France.
Most maps from this series measure approximately 33 × 49.5 cm. Please see individual listings for specific dimensions, condition details, and information on margins or trimming.
Major place names shown on the map (France – Département de l’Ain)
Bourg, Trévoux, Belley, Nantua, Gex, Divonne, Ferney, Thoiry, Collonges, Cessy, Versonnex, Grilly, Signy, Ornex
(Only names clearly legible on the plate are included.)
Special note: Swiss border and cross-border place names shown
The map explicitly shows several locations across or directly adjacent to the Swiss frontier, underlining the geographic proximity between the Ain and the Lake Geneva basin.
Switzerland:
Genève (Geneva), Nyon, Carouge
Border region of the Ain (Pays de Gex and environs):
Gex, Divonne, Ferney, Cessy, Versonnex, Grilly, Signy, Ornex, Collonges, Thoiry
Cartouche title (original French)
TERRITOIRE, CURIOSITÉS, CÉLÉBRITÉS
Full transcription of the cartouche (French)
Le département offre les différentes espèces de sol qui suivent : 91,000 hectares de sol riche terreau, 185,000 hectares de craie, 90,000 hectares de sol pierreux, 214,000 hect. de sol argileux, 12,674 hectares de sol limoneux ou argileux.
Le Territoire compte 230,500 hectares de Pays de montagnes. Bon sol et quelques landes au nord, à l’est montagnes élevées qui sont un prolongement du Jura, rocs escarpés, belles futaies de sapin, peu de terrains en céréales ; au sud est, sommets moins escarpés, terrains propres à l’agriculture et enfin au sud ouest, marais étendus, étangs au nombre de plus de 1,500.
Mines de houille, d’asphalte, pierres lithographiques, pierres calcaires susceptibles d’un beau poli, marbre rouge, pierres de taille, stalactites, roches schisteuses, oxides de fer, pyrites cuivreuses, calamine, plâtre, granit, marne, argile, etc.
CURIOSITÉS. La perte du Rhône et celle de la Valserine. Les grottes de la Balme situées au pied du rocher de Pierre-Châtel. Le lac de Nantua si poissonneux. La cascade de Cerveyrieu. Les ruines du vieux château à Château-Neuf. À Bourg le monument élevé à la mémoire de Joubert, aux environs la belle église gothique de Brou, célèbre par ses beaux vitraux. À 4 kilomètres de Nantua on voit les ruines d’une grande ville dont l’emplacement prend le nom de Maladière. À Ferney la maison de Voltaire.
CÉLÉBRITÉS. Claude de Seyssel archevêque de Turin, Louis Duret un des médecins de Henri III et de Charles IX, Honoré d’Urfé auteur du roman d’Astrée et que la Biographie Universelle dit être né à Marseille. Les deux seigneurs de Vaugelas membres de l’Académie Française. Ozanam mathématicien distingué. Melle de Choin, qui épousa le grand dauphin en 1697. Le Père Maillat savant missionnaire en Chine. Le missionnaire François Piquet si justement aimé des naturels de l’Amérique du Nord. Commerson compagnon du navigateur Bougainville. Le conventionnel Carra, le général Joubert, l’illustre médecin Bichat, l’astronome Lalande, Louis Dupuy, l’amiral Coligny, Michaud de l’Académie Française, auteur de l’histoire des Croisades, les médecins Richerand et Montegré, le député Girod de l’Ain et son fils, les généraux Dallemagne, Puthod, Sibuel, Robin etc.
Translation (English)
Territory, Curiosities, Notable Figures
The department offers the following types of soil: 91,000 hectares of rich loam, 185,000 hectares of chalk, 90,000 hectares of stony ground, 214,000 hectares of clay soil, and 12,674 hectares of silty or clay-loam soil.
The territory includes 230,500 hectares of mountainous country. Good soil and some heathland to the north; to the east, high mountains forming an extension of the Jura, with steep rocks, fine fir forests, and little cereal cultivation; to the southeast, less rugged summits with land suitable for agriculture; and finally to the southwest, extensive marshes and more than 1,500 ponds.
Mines of coal and asphalt; lithographic stones; limestone capable of taking a fine polish; red marble; building stone; stalactites; schistose rocks; iron oxides; copper pyrites; calamine; plaster; granite; marl; clay, etc.
Curiosities. The loss of the Rhône and that of the Valserine. The caves of La Balme at the foot of the rock of Pierre-Châtel. The richly stocked lake of Nantua. The waterfall of Cerveyrieu. The ruins of the old castle at Château-Neuf. At Bourg, the monument erected to the memory of Joubert, and nearby the beautiful Gothic church of Brou, celebrated for its fine stained glass. Four kilometers from Nantua are the ruins of a large town, the site known as La Maladière. At Ferney, the house of Voltaire.
Notable figures. Claude de Seyssel, Archbishop of Turin; Louis Duret, one of the physicians of Henry III and Charles IX; Honoré d’Urfé, author of the novel Astrée, said by the Biographie Universelle to have been born in Marseille; the two Lords of Vaugelas, members of the Académie Française; Ozanam, distinguished mathematician; Mademoiselle de Choin, who married the Grand Dauphin in 1697; Father Maillat, learned missionary in China; the missionary François Piquet, much beloved by the native peoples of North America; Commerson, companion of the navigator Bougainville; the revolutionary Carra; General Joubert; the illustrious physician Bichat; the astronomer Lalande; Louis Dupuy; Admiral Coligny; Michaud of the Académie Française, author of the History of the Crusades; the physicians Richerand and Montegré; the deputy Girod of the Ain and his son; the generals Dallemagne, Puthod, Sibuel, Robin, etc.