Levasseur Atlas of France Map of Savoy – Dept de La Savoie
Handsome handcolored illustrated departmental map of Savoy, produced for Victor Levasseur’s Atlas National Illustré. The department is shown divided into its administrative arrondissements, each distinguished by hand color. Roads, rivers, mountain passes, and principal towns are carefully labeled. Savoy is shown bordered by Haute-Savoie to the north, Isère to the west, Hautes-Alpes to the south, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont) to the east, reflecting its political geography of the period.
The map is surrounded by elaborate engraved vignettes illustrating regional life, agriculture, industry, and landscape. These include rural figures in traditional dress, livestock, barrels, cheeses, timber, fish, and manufactured goods, alongside scenic Alpine views, churches, villages, and transport routes. At the top appear portrait medallions of notable figures associated with Savoy, and at either side are statistical and descriptive cartouches giving demographic, cultural, and economic information.
Places appearing on the map include: Chambéry, Aix-les-Bains, Albertville, Moûtiers, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, Modane, Mont-Cenis, Lac du Bourget, Saint-Pierre-d’Albigny
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.
Condition: Age toning… dome damage to outer edges of sheet – easily covered by matting.
Text in Cartouche
CÉLÉBRITÉS
Pape Innocent V ; littérateur Michaud ; Vaugelas grammairien ; l’Abbé de Réal ; Joseph de Maistre célèbre écrivain et diplomate ainsi que son frère Xavier de Maistre écrivain distingué ; le général de Boigne ; le professeur de Médecine et de chimie Fodéré ; le président Fabre auteur célèbre d’ouvrages de Jurisprudence ; le père Deschalles mathématicien distingué.
PRODUCTIONS ET COMMERCE
Gibier, poissons renommés, blé, chanvre, vin, avoine, seigle, miel, bois divers, plantes aromatiques, troupeaux abondants, mulets, chevaux, bêtes à laine, chèvres, vaches etc., châtaignes, fromage et fruits divers, soie etc.
Commerce. — Grains, beurre, miel, œufs, cire, sel, bestiaux divers, gaze, cuirs bruts et tannés, fonderies diverses, toiles, draps communs, cotonnades etc.
Translation of Text in Cartouche
NOTABLE FIGURES
Pope Innocent V; the writer Michaud; Vaugelas, grammarian; Abbé de Réal; Joseph de Maistre, celebrated writer and diplomat, as well as his brother Xavier de Maistre, a distinguished writer; General de Boigne; Fodéré, professor of medicine and chemistry; President Fabre, celebrated author of works on jurisprudence; Father Deschalles, a distinguished mathematician.
PRODUCE AND COMMERCE
Game, renowned fish, wheat, hemp, wine, oats, rye, honey, various woods, aromatic plants, abundant herds, mules, horses, wool-bearing animals, goats, cows, etc., chestnuts, cheese and various fruits, silk, etc.
Commerce: Grains, butter, honey, eggs, wax, salt, various livestock, gauze, raw and tanned hides, various foundries, cloth, common woolens, cotton fabrics, etc.