Pierre Antoine Tardieu (1784-1869), also known to sign his works as PF Tardieu, was a prolific French map engraver and geographer. The Tardieu family, based in Paris, was well known for their talent in engraving, cartography, and illustration. Pierre Antoine’s father, Antoine Francois Tardieu, was an established cartographer who published numerous atlases. His son is said to have collaborated with him for many years before establishing his own independent career.
Pierre Antoine Tardieu’s most famous work includes engravings of the islands of La Palma and Tenerife, for which in 1818 he was awarded a bronze medal by King Louis-Phillipe for the beauty and accuracy of his mapping. Other famous work includes his mapping of Louisiana and Mexico, engravings of Irish counties, maps of Russia and Asia, and his highly celebrated illustrations of all the provinces of France. He was also the first mapmaker to engrave on steel.
Tardieu was a popular map engraver in his lifetime, enjoying the patronage of the likes of Alexander von Humboldt and respect among his peers. In 1837, he was appointed the title Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur. As was written in his obituary in the Bulletin of the Geographical Society of France, he was renowned for his combination of technical talent and scholarly research skills and praised for furthering his family’s well-respected name in the scientific arts.
Detailed map of the United States, engraved by Tardieu for Michael Chevalier's Historie et description des voies de Communication aux Etats-Unis. The map focuses on the early railroad lines throughout the United States as of 1840.
Nice example of the French edition of the scarce Lewis Evans' map of the Middle British Colonies, one of the most important maps of the British Colonies published in the 18th Century. Evans' map provides a dramatic update in the region covered, based...
Rare Map of the District of Columbia, "Drawn by Andw. Ellicott" and "Engraved by P.A.F. Tardieu" in Paris. Scarce French edition of Tardieu's detailed map of the Territory of Columbia, showing the extent of the entire Territory, along with an early...
Striking wide margined example of this scarce map of Cuba, the Bahamas and the Southern tip of Florida. The map provides a fine depiction of the Western Caribbean. The dating of this map runs the gamut from 1784 to 1806, but it can be reliably traced...
This is a rare separately issued map of the Gulf Coast and the Caribbean by Tardieu. The map was issued shortly after the Louisiana Purchase (1803) and the creation of the Mississippi Territory (1804). The map demonstrates the remarkably fine engraving...
![[Early Ohio River Promotional Map] Plan Des Achats Des Compagnies de L'Ohio et du Scioto](/map/small/58635.jpg)
Rare Early Real Estate Speculation in the Ohio Valley (Manuscript Additions!) Rare first state of this important map for the early development of the Ohio Valley, promoting the lands of the Scioto Company. The present example is a rare early state,...
Scarce map of the Southeast from Mentelle & Chanlaire's Atlas Universel… engraved by Tardieu and Valet. The map has interesting details throughout the region, including counties, roads, towns, counties, rivers, lakes, bays, forts, islands, etc....
![[Provincia de Texas] A Map of Louisiana and Mexico. Carte de la Louisiane et Mexique . . . 1820](/map/small/39611dd.jpg)
An Early Appearance of the Provincia de Texas Rare separately issued map of Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Southern California, Southern Arizona, Southern New Mexico and parts adjacent, published in Paris by Tardieu. As noted on the map This...
Finely engraved map of Moscow, published in Tardieu's Histoire physique, morale civile et politique de la Russie Ancienne.
Scarce separately published example of Tardieu's scarce plan of the City of St. Petersburg. Tardieu's plan is based upon a larger plan, first prepared in 1753 for the Russian Academy of Sciences & Arts. The key at the right lists 79 places of...
Detailed map of the Balkans regions and Greece, toward the end of the Ottoman Empire.
Fine map of the polar regions, which illustrated the French edition Johann Reinhold Forster's Geschichte der Entdeckungen und Schiffahrten im Norden, first published in 1784. The map translates as follows: New map of the countries situated fifty...
