The Margrave and Elector of Brandenburg
Title
The Margrave and Elector of Brandenburg
Alternative Title
Le Marquisat et Eslectorat de Brandebourg : qui fait partie du cercle de la Haute Saxe, divisé en ses principales parties
The Margrave and Elector of Brandenburg: which makes up part of the region of Upper Saxony, divided into its main parts
Marquisat et Eslectorat de Brandebourg, qui fait partie du cercle de la Haute Saxe, divisé en ses principales marches sçavoir Vieille, Moyenne, et Nouvelle, les Quarters de Sternberg, Uckermarck, Pregnitz, et le Comté de Rappin
The Margrave and Elector of Brandenburg: which makes up part of the region of Upper Saxony, divided into its main parts
Marquisat et Eslectorat de Brandebourg, qui fait partie du cercle de la Haute Saxe, divisé en ses principales marches sçavoir Vieille, Moyenne, et Nouvelle, les Quarters de Sternberg, Uckermarck, Pregnitz, et le Comté de Rappin
Description
This map is titled in English: The Margrave and Elector of Brandenburg: which makes up part of the region of Upper Saxony, divided into its main parts. It was made by Guillaume Sanson and published in Alexis-Hubert Jaillot’s Atlas nouveau in 1692, though there versions of this map ranging from 1676-1700.
Guillaume Sanson (1633-1703) was the son of Nicholas Sanson, father of the Sanson mapping powerhouse. Nicholas created the first world atlas made in France and developed innovative cartographic techniques, including a map projection.
Nicolas changed the cartographic perspective to be more technical and less lavish. Paris at the time was overpowering other cultural hubs such as Antwerp, so artists and cartographers from the Netherlands and the north were venturing to Paris for work. Nicola’s influence on the French map trade greatly affected the cartographic perspective, and the precision and scientific detail that he used became a model throughout the 17th century.
He left his business to his sons, Nicholas II, Guillaume, and Adrien. They carried on his successful and prominent cartography business, though with some prominent rivalries and financial troubles. Guillaume was accused of republishing maps without updating them appropriately, and a new survey of France found that his map significantly overestimated France’s borders. In partnership with Jaillot, Guillaume published the Atlas nouveau in 1681 and the Introducion à la geographie from his father.
Alexis-Hubert Jaillot (1632-1712) published abundantly and also passed on his business to his descendants, including female relatives. He was the first to produce the then-popular style of 2 sheet double-hemisphere world map. Jaillot had long term contracts with engraver François Caumartin and letter-engraver Louis Cordier, so they are possible engravers for this map.
This map depicts Brandenburg at the time, which was the largest autonomous estate in the Holy Roman Emperor and ruled by the Calvinist Elector Friedrich III. This map was made in the period after the 30 Years War, which destroyed about 25-40 percent of Central Europe’s population, and shortly before the creation of the Kingdom of Prussia. This region today includes many states of Northeast Germany and Western Poland, which are listed in the tags.
Sophie Quinn '25 and Dane Swanser '23
Guillaume Sanson (1633-1703) was the son of Nicholas Sanson, father of the Sanson mapping powerhouse. Nicholas created the first world atlas made in France and developed innovative cartographic techniques, including a map projection.
Nicolas changed the cartographic perspective to be more technical and less lavish. Paris at the time was overpowering other cultural hubs such as Antwerp, so artists and cartographers from the Netherlands and the north were venturing to Paris for work. Nicola’s influence on the French map trade greatly affected the cartographic perspective, and the precision and scientific detail that he used became a model throughout the 17th century.
He left his business to his sons, Nicholas II, Guillaume, and Adrien. They carried on his successful and prominent cartography business, though with some prominent rivalries and financial troubles. Guillaume was accused of republishing maps without updating them appropriately, and a new survey of France found that his map significantly overestimated France’s borders. In partnership with Jaillot, Guillaume published the Atlas nouveau in 1681 and the Introducion à la geographie from his father.
Alexis-Hubert Jaillot (1632-1712) published abundantly and also passed on his business to his descendants, including female relatives. He was the first to produce the then-popular style of 2 sheet double-hemisphere world map. Jaillot had long term contracts with engraver François Caumartin and letter-engraver Louis Cordier, so they are possible engravers for this map.
This map depicts Brandenburg at the time, which was the largest autonomous estate in the Holy Roman Emperor and ruled by the Calvinist Elector Friedrich III. This map was made in the period after the 30 Years War, which destroyed about 25-40 percent of Central Europe’s population, and shortly before the creation of the Kingdom of Prussia. This region today includes many states of Northeast Germany and Western Poland, which are listed in the tags.
Sophie Quinn '25 and Dane Swanser '23
Creator
Guillaume Sanson
Source
Sanson, Guillaume, and Alexis Hubert Jaillot. “Le Marquisat et Eslectorat de Brandebourg : qui fait partie du cercle de la Haute Saxe, divisé en ses principales parties.” A Paris: Chez H. Jaillot, joignant les grands Augustins, aux deux Globes, 1692
Format
sheet map removed from atlas or book
Date
1692
Medium
engraving
Contributor
Special Collections, Carleton College, Northfield, MN
Language
French
Type
regional map
Spatial Coverage
Brandenburg
References
Akerman, James R. “The Structuring of Political Territory in Early Printed Atlases.” Imago Mundi 47 (1995): 138–54. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1151310.
Campbell, Eila M. J. “THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF THE ATLAS.” Geography 34, no. 4 (1949): 187–95. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40564636.
Fay, Sidney Bradshaw. The Rise of Brandenburg-Prussia to 1786. New York: H. Holt and company, 1937.
Harley, J. B., David Woodward, Mark S. Monmonier, and Mary Sponberg Pedley. The History of Cartography. vol. 4, Cartography in the European Enlightenment. Edited by Matthew H. Edney and Mary Sponberg Pedley. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.
New World Cartographic. “Map Maker Biography: Nicolas Sanson (1600 – 1667).” Accessed March 3, 2023. https://nwcartographic.com/blogs/essays-articles/map-maker-biography-nicolas-sanson-1600-1667.
Pedley, Mary Sponberg. “The Map Trade in Paris, 1650-1825.” Imago Mundi 33 (1981): 33–45. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1150782.
Wintle, Michael. “Emergent Nationalism in European Maps of the Eighteenth Century.” In The Roots of Nationalism: National Identity Formation in Early Modern Europe, 1600-1815, edited by Lotte Jensen, 271–88. Amsterdam University Press, 2016. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv8pzcpr.17.
Campbell, Eila M. J. “THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF THE ATLAS.” Geography 34, no. 4 (1949): 187–95. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40564636.
Fay, Sidney Bradshaw. The Rise of Brandenburg-Prussia to 1786. New York: H. Holt and company, 1937.
Harley, J. B., David Woodward, Mark S. Monmonier, and Mary Sponberg Pedley. The History of Cartography. vol. 4, Cartography in the European Enlightenment. Edited by Matthew H. Edney and Mary Sponberg Pedley. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.
New World Cartographic. “Map Maker Biography: Nicolas Sanson (1600 – 1667).” Accessed March 3, 2023. https://nwcartographic.com/blogs/essays-articles/map-maker-biography-nicolas-sanson-1600-1667.
Pedley, Mary Sponberg. “The Map Trade in Paris, 1650-1825.” Imago Mundi 33 (1981): 33–45. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1150782.
Wintle, Michael. “Emergent Nationalism in European Maps of the Eighteenth Century.” In The Roots of Nationalism: National Identity Formation in Early Modern Europe, 1600-1815, edited by Lotte Jensen, 271–88. Amsterdam University Press, 2016. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv8pzcpr.17.
Rights
Rights for maps held by individual publishers and institutions. Thumbnails displayed constitute fair use.
Citation
Guillaume Sanson, “The Margrave and Elector of Brandenburg,” Mapping the World, accessed April 24, 2026, https://hist231.hist.sites.carleton.edu/items/show/55.