Alain Manesson Mallet (1630–1706) was a French
cartographer
Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
and
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
. He started his career as a soldier in the army of
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Vers ...
, became a Sergeant-Major in the artillery and an Inspector of Fortifications. He also served under the King of Portugal, before returning to France, and his appointment to the court of Louis XIV. His military engineering and mathematical background led to his position teaching mathematics at court.
His major publications were ''Description de L'Univers'' (1683) in 5 volumes, and ''Les Travaux de Mars ou l'Art de la Guerre'' (1684) in 3 volumes.
His ''Description de L'Universe'' contains a wide variety of information, including star maps, maps of the ancient and modern world, and a synopsis of the customs, religion and government of the many nations included in his text. It has been suggested that his background as a teacher led to his being concerned with entertaining his readers. This concern manifested itself in the charming harbour scenes and rural landscapes that he included beneath his description of astronomical concepts and diagrams. Mallet himself drew most of the figures that were engraved for this book.
[Mendillo, Michael (2005). ''Celestial Images – Antiquarian Astronomical Charts and Maps from the Mendillo Collection, Boston'': University of Washington Press. pp. 83-84]
References
Further reading
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*
v.1*
v.2 Asia
*
v.3 Africa
All Mallet maps and views from different editions (1683-1719) available at http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00generallinks/mallet/
Images
Image:Alsace map mallet vol4 plate45.png, Map from ''Description de L'Univers''.
Image:MalletWar0048.jpg, Page from ''Les Travaux de Mars ou l'Art de la Guerre'' showing St. George Cathedral in Venice.
File:Manesson-Travaux-de-Mars 9684.tif, Page from ''Les Travaux de Mars ou l'Art de la Guerre'' showing the fortified town of Alburquerque.
File:Mallet Afrique Ancienne 1719 UTA.jpg, ''Afrique Ancienne'', 1719
Treatises on line: http://architectura.cesr.univ-tours.fr/Traite/Auteur/Manesson_Mallet.asp?param=en
French cartographers
French military engineers
1630 births
1706 deaths
17th-century cartographers
17th-century French people
18th-century French people
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