Beschreibung:

TURGOT, Michel Etienne (1690-1751) and Louis BRETEZ (fl. 1706-1739). Plan de Paris commencé l'Année 1734 ... sous les ordres de Messire Michel Etienne Turgot ... Achevé de Graver en 1739 . Paris: 1739.
TURGOT, Michel Etienne (1690-1751) and Louis BRETEZ (fl. 1706-1739). Plan de Paris commencé l'Année 1734 ... sous les ordres de Messire Michel Etienne Turgot ... Achevé de Graver en 1739 . Paris: 1739. 2° (550 x 440 mm). Engraved throughout, folding index map and plan of Paris on 20 sheets by Claude Lucas after Louis Bretez sheets 18 and 19 joined. (Some minor darkening to a few plates.) Contemporary red morocco gilt, covers with double-fillet and roll tooled border, fleur-de-lys cornerpieces with the centrally-placed arms of the city of Paris, spine in ten compartments with raised bands, brown morocco lettering-piece in the second, the others with repeat pattern of fleur-de-lys and star tools, gilt edges (minor rubbing to spine ends and edges). A FINE COPY OF A CARTOGRAPHICAL TOUR-DE-FORCE: the 20 sheets form a single enormous plan (approximately 2,500 x 3,200 mm). This takes the form of a bird's-eye-view with a decorative border and exhibits enough detail “in which all the buildings of Paris, including the civic structures, churches, and even private houses with their courts and gardens, are represented in three dimensional quarter view” (Millard). Turgot's celebrated plan of Paris is important for providing a remarkably detailed snapshot of the pre-Haussman architectural history of the city. Berlin Kat. 2506; Millard French , 39.