"Asie", Levasseur, Victor

Victor Levasseur's "Atlas National Illustre" and "Atlas Universel Illustre" are among the last decorative atlases published. The maps are all lavishly illustrated with scenes of the countryside, products and activities indigenous to the region.

This decorative map of the Asian continent is surrounded top and bottom with ten steel engraved vignettes depicting costumes of the various peoples of Asia. The surrounding vignettes show Adam and Eve, an allegorical image of Asia as a woman, and several exotic animals including a rhinoceros, crocodile, lion and a buffalo. The population chart at right shows there are only 638,550,000 inhabitants on the entire continent. This map was illustrated by Raimond Bonheur, father of the famous painter Rosa Bonheur.

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Condition: A+

Lovely, mint example with crisp and wide margins. Surrounding vignettes beautifully hand colored.