Antique World Map 1724 — Delisle, Hemisphere Occidental

An old world map of the western half, made for the King

The title says what the sheet is for: Hemisphere Occidental, dressé en 1720 pour l'usage particulier du Roy — the western hemisphere, drawn in 1720 for the private use of the King, on the observations reported that same year by the Royal Academy of Sciences. Delisle published it in Paris at his own address, under an Academy privilege dated 15 September 1724. Longitude runs from Ferro, relief is drawn in the hill symbols of the period, the back of the sheet blank.

What the catalogue records

The National Library of Poland records one copper engraving: the map measures 51 × 50 cm on a sheet of 51 × 67 cm, at a scale of about 1:54,000,000. Delisle's dates are 1675 to 1726, the call number ZZK 28 843. The record says nothing about coloring.

Half a world, printed to 99 cm

You get two frames of the same sheet, so there are two numbers. The map, cut to the outer border, prints to 99 cm (39 in) on the long side at 300 dpi; the full sheet with its margins to 136 cm (54 in). Both come from the library's own scan and not from an upscale, and the engraved coastlines hold at either size.

Your file

How to print

• Print at 300 dpi at the size above and do not let the shop scale the file up.
• Pick the archive whose proportions match your frame, so nothing is cropped or stretched.
• Ask for matte fine-art paper, sRGB, auto-enhancement off.
• Where to print it: print shops near you and checked prices at online labs.

Source and rights

National Library of Poland, call number ZZK 28 843. The library places the sheet in the public domain and allows it to be reproduced, altered and distributed, commercially too. Archive and shelfmark are named in the passport inside every ZIP. Catalogue record: Polona →

Questions