• Period:
  18th Century
• Origin:
  France

King Louis XV's war plans for the proposed invasion of England during the Seven Years' War, including 19 maps of the British coast, beautifully bound together in a gold embossed, red leather cover. These hand engraved maps were pirated from the British and abridged by French Royal Cartographer Jacques Nicolas Bellin. The French Navy published a very limited number of this 18th-century atlas for its high-ranking naval officers. The top secret maps and plans safeguarded in this leather bound atlas contained vital British geographical statistics. Fortunately for the collector, though perhaps not for Louis XV's Navy, these plans of attack were never called into action and the atlas remains in remarkable condition. Seldom are documents of such historical value and interest found in such pristine condition. Cover marked with the coat-of-arms of Louis XV. Dated 1759.

14 1/4" wide x 20 1/2" high

Long-time rivals, Britain and France had enjoyed a period of relative peace just prior to 1756, though each continued to harass the other in their colonial settlements in North America. In 1756, the French attacked the British colony of Minorca, drawing the two countries into what later came to be known as the Seven Years' War. Complex, and seemingly contradictory, alliances were formed between Britain and Prussia and France and Austria, countries whose disputes were, on the surface, much removed from the differences between France and Britain. Nonetheless, the countries embarked on a series of battles across Europe, in Africa, the West Indies, India and North America. By late 1762, the war was dragging to an end. The British and the French ended their dispute with the Treaty of Paris, signed on February 10, 1763, before Louis XV was able to use these maps against the British.