[Map of Catalonia, Spain] Principauté de Catalogne ou sont compris Les Comtes de Rousillon

Example of this map of Catalonia by Jaillot, published in Paris at the end of the 17th century. It indicates the limits of the principality with France, Aragon and Valencia. Solsona appears in the centre of the map. It contains a cartouche surrounded by cherubs and a galloping horse in the upper part. This map was dedicated by Jaillot to Louis, Duke of Burgundy, the eldest son of Louis the Dauphin and grandson of the reigning monarch Louis XIV. Alexis-Hubert Jaillot (c.1632-1712) was the successor of Nicolas Sanson as one of the prominent French cartographers, at a time when the Dutch predominance in cartography gradually shifted from Amsterdam to Paris. Jaillot was educated as a sculptor and married the daughter of Nicolas Berey, which allowed him to inherit a prosperous business of publishing and selling maps. When Nicolas Sanson, the most important cartographer of France, died, Jaillot negotiated with his heirs to allow him to continue publishing his maps with slight modifications and updates. Jaillot’s maps were noted for their allegorical cartouches and other decorative elements, which he used to exalt the virtues of the Sun King, Louis XIV, and his military and political triumphs. This earned him the patronage of the crown and his maps were used in the education of the young Dauphin. In 1686 he was honoured with the title of Géographe du Roi, which brought him substantial prestige. He died in Paris in 1712, his most important work being Le Neptune François, published in 1693. Full title: Principauté de Catalogne ou sont compris Les Comtes de Rousillon, et de Cerdagne divisés en leurs Vigueries, Presenté a Monseigneur a Monseigneur le Duc de Bourgogne. Nova Principatus Cataloniae Tabula, ad Usum Serenissimi Burgundiae Ducis.