Eugène Cortambert (1805-1881) French, Reproduction 1860 Map of Europe. Drawn up by the cartographer Louis E. Desbuissons. Originally published by Defour, Mulat, & Boulanger. 

Condition: Spotting throughout. 

Overall Size: 18 1/2 x 22 1/2 in. 

Sight Size: 16 1/2 x 20 1/2 in. 

#5045  

Pierre-François Eugène Cortambert was born on October 12th, 1805 in Toulouse, France. His father was Richard Anne Cortambert, a marine scientist and author of adventure novels that heavily influenced the origins of modern science fiction, and his mother Louise was likely the author of “Le Langage des Fleurs,” the first popular book on the language of flowers, published under the pseudonym Madame Charlotte de Latour. Raised with a vast appreciation for the far corners of the globe as well as a passion for the arts, he dedicated his life to geography, first working as a professor in Paris before being appointed secretary general of the Geographical Society in 1853. In 1863 he replaced Edme François Jomard as head of the geography section of the National Library of France following the latter’s death. He authored numerous works intended for teaching, such as his Universal Geography, a revised and supplemented edition of the works of Conrad Malte-Brun, and Elements of Geography, as well as compiling numerous atlases. His son, Richard Cortambert, followed in the family footsteps as a geographer and writer, and when Eugène passed away in 1881 he was buried in Passy cemetery, which he now shares with over six generations of French writers, artists, and philosophers.

Spotting throughout.