Carte Itineraire de L’Europe indiquant Les Limites actuelles des Etats

Massive, finely-engraved map of Europe from the July Monarchy of France.

This wonderfully detailed map of Europe was designed by Auguste-Henri Dufour and published in Paris in 1835 by Charles Simonneau. The image is noted as ‘Dedicated to the King’, Louis Philippe I, who was the target of an attempted assassination that same year. The content of the map is dedicated to showing the complex network of post roads that spread across the majority of the continent in the preceding century. Two different line styles denote ‘Grande’ and ‘Petite’ routes, with distances between points noted. The intervals between European capitals are provided in a table in the upper left. Immediately below is a second table that lists the major cities of each state, along with their respective distance from the capital.

Original color highlights territorial boundaries across the continent. Of particular interest are the recently independent Greece and Belgium (1830) and the chaotic mess of German states that comprised the former Holy Roman Empire. Toponyms identify place names according to their relative size and importance. Also of note are the alternative transportation routes. These include shipping lanes (with distances in leagues) and a handful of railroads in operation, including the Liverpool & Manchester Railway.

This is the first edition of the map, which was re-issued in at least six subsequent editions through the early 1860s. Only 3 examples are noted in WorldCat as of June 2024, at the Bibliotechque Nacional de France, the Boston Public Library, and the University of Dresden. OCLC#s 879289345; 985592254; 921764667;