Nicholas de Fer (1646-1720) was the son of a map seller, Antoine de Fer, and grew to be one of the most well-known mapmakers in France in the seventeenth century. He was apprenticed at twelve years old to Louis Spirinx, an engraver. When his father died in 1673, Nicholas helped his mother run the business until 1687, when he became the sole proprietor.
His earliest known work is a map of the Canal of Languedoc in 1669, while some of his earliest engravings are in the revised edition of Methode pour Apprendre Facilement la Geographie (1685). In 1697, he published his first world atlas. Perhaps his most famous map is his wall map of America, published in 1698, with its celebrated beaver scene (engraved by Hendrick van Loon, designed by Nicolas Guerard). After his death in 1720, the business passed to his sons-in-law, Guillaume Danet and Jacques-Francois Benard.
With Portraits of the Great Explorers Decorative map of the World depicting both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. In the west, the map shows California as an Island, the Northwest Passage, an interesting misprojection of the Great Lakes, and the...
Decorative double hemisphere map of the World, published by one of Paris's leading mapmakers, Nicolas De Fer in 1700. In the west, the map shows California as an Island, the Northwest Passage, an interesting misprojection of the Great Lakes, and the...
Antique 18th century map of the Eastern United States and Canada, from De Fer's Atlas Curieux. A map which illustrates the extent of French royal control over the North American Continent. Canada, also named Nouvelle France on the map, extends from...
Rare 1701 First Edition Nice example of this historically important and fascinating map of the Gulf Coast and Mississippi River region, from Nicolas De Fer's Atlas Curieux. In preparing this fine map, the leading French cartographer Nicolas De Fer...
Nicolas De Fer's Landmark 1715 Map of the Mississippi River Valley and the French Regions in the Interior of North America. Fine example of De Fer's rare map of the southern part of the French regions in North America, one of the most important maps...
De Fer's Landmark Map of the Mississippi River Valley and the French Regions in interior of North America. Fine example of De Fer's rare map of the southern part of the French regions in North America, prepared by De Fer for the French Company of...
Largest Separate Representation of the Island of California Striking large-format map of the island of California—the largest separate representation of the island of California on a printed map. It is a later representation of the island (1720),...
De Fer’s Map of the Southwest Based Upon the Earliest Reports of Father Kino -- One of the Few Regional Maps to Show the Island of California Scarce second state of De Fer's map of California, bearing the date 1705. This is one of a select few...
Rare map of the Island of Guadalupe. Includes a fine topographical treatment of the island, with a key locating 10 places of interest. The attribution to De Fer is based upon style--we were not able to locate another example of the map.
Antique Map of Haiti & Santa Domingo Detailed separate map of Hispaniola, from Nicolas De Fer's Atlas Curieux.
Detailed map of Martinique, oriented with east at the top. From De Fer's Atlas Curieux. The map provides a remarkable topographical and geographical look at Martinique, including forts, churches, anchorages, towns, rivers, mountains, bays, harbors,...
Striking old color example of Der Fer's map of the northern part of South America, from his Atlas Curieux. The map extends south to include Rio Ianeyro (Rio De Janeiro). A number of annotations on the indigenous people of the interior and other features.
Fine example of De Fer's map of Peru and contiguous parts of the Andes and Upper Amazon River Basin. The striking large format map is the result of some of the most up to date cartographic information coming back to Europe from the Jesuit...
Striking map of the continent of Europe from Nicholas de Fer's L'Atlas Curieux ou le Monde. This example is the first state, dated 1700. The map shows large German and huge Polish Empires, bordering Turkey in Europe. Iceland and Greenland are depicted...
Detailed map of the Isle of Wight and contiguous coastline, from Portsmouth and Southampton to Swynghills and Havre de Rey (Kings Harbor). Shows a very detailed treatment of the island, both coastal and interior, with rhumb lines. Inset of Tor Bay and...
Detailed map of the 17 provinces with a key identifying regions. Includes and decorative cartouche and text on the Dutch Rebellion against Spain after the death of Charles V, and their rejection of the Catholic Religion in favor of the Reformed...
