Bonne, Rigobert (1727-1794) (Artist) — Amerique Meridionale

Paris: Dépôt de la Marine, [1700s]. Original B&W engraved map. 14.5 x 11 inches. Very Good. Light staining in margins. Horizontal fold along center. Text in French. Light matting. Rigobert Bonne (October 6, 1727 - September 2, 1794) was one of the most important French cartographers of the late 18th century. Bonne was born in Ardennes a Raucourt, France. He taught himself mathematics and by eighteen was a working engineer. During the War of the Austrian Succession he served as a military engineer at Berg-op-Zoom. In the subsequent years Bonne became one of the most respected masters of mathematics, physics, and geography in Paris. In 1773, Bonne succeeded Jacques-Nicolas Bellin as Royal Cartographer tp France in the office of the Hydrographer at the Dépôt de la Marine. Working in his official capacity, Bonne compiled some of the most detailed and accurate maps of the period - most on an equal-area projection known erroneously as the "Bonne Projection". Bonne's work represents and important step in the evolution of the cartographic ideology away from the decorative work of the 17th and early 18th century towards a more scientific and practical aesthetic. .