Original map of Switzerland and the Grisons with their allies and subjects ("Les Suisses et les Grisons, avec leurs Alliés et leurs Sujets"), engraved on copper with hand-coloured outlines, from the work of Robert de Vaugondy. According to the cartouche, it was corrected by Citizen Lamarche, geographer, successor to Vaugondy, in Year III (1794-1795). A colour key distinguishes the Swiss, their subjects, their allies and the subjects of the Grisons; with a scale bar. Signed lower right by the engraver E. Dussy.
Gilles and Didier Robert de Vaugondy, father and son, were renowned eighteenth-century cartographers, descendants of the cartographer Nicolas Sanson, from whom they inherited much of their cartographic material. In 1757 they published their most famous work, the Atlas Universel, and in 1760 Didier Robert de Vaugondy was appointed geographer to Louis XV. Their successor Delamarche later revised and corrected the plates.
Medium: Copper engraving (intaglio) on paper, with hand-coloured outlines.
Artist / after: Robert de Vaugondy; corrected by Citizen Lamarche, geographer, successor to Vaugondy.
Engraver: E. Dussy (signed in the plate, lower right: "Gravé par E. Dussy").
Date: Year III of the French Republic (1794-1795), as stated in the cartouche.
Dimensions: Plate 10 x 11.7 in (25.4 x 29.8 cm); sheet 12.5 x 17.7 in (31.8 x 45 cm).
Condition: Heavy foxing and damp staining throughout the sheet, very visible in the margins and also on the map and cartouche; original central fold; wide margins.