France (1846)

A delightfully whimsical 1846 map of France, from a German kinderatlas or children's atlas. The map details France and Corsica and was printed by Julius Loewenberg (1800-1893), a German Jewish printer, geographer, and author active in Berlin during the middle part of the 19th century. The whole is surrounded by a wide border featuring charming vignettes meant to illustrate the peoples and cultures of the region. These include two men on stilts, two women chatting, a French soldier, a man in a balloon with scientific instruments, a portrait of Napoleon, etc.

The map is accompanied by its adjacent page, which includes a poetic history of the kingdom of France in German gothic type. The wonderful and rare map was drawn by Anst. V A. Boeden of Berlin for inclusion as plate no. IV in the 1846 issue of Julius Loewenberg's Geographische Landerfibel.