Nicholas Sanson

Nicholas Sanson was born in 1600 at Abbeville and died in Paris, 1667.

Sanson is without doubt, one of the greatest names in French map-making, he was at the beginning of the great flowering of French geographical expertise in the mid 17th and the 18th centuries.

His maps, often dated, are always dignified and attractive, with an ornamental cartouche.

He was a prolific maker of maps, and fine quality examples can be found of all parts of the world, including many very detailed maps of European countries. His work was continued by his two surviving sons, Guillaume and Adrien.

The Sanson atlases were produced from c.1654 to c.1676.