Tassin, Christophe Nicholas
1636

Tour de Corduan

DESCRIPTION: A recommended item for any collector of maritime, lighthouse, or nautical antiques. Should appeal to collectors of coastal charts of France. Very unusual and quite interesting engraving from Tassin who produced almost exclusively charts and plans of the French coast and little else.

Extremely scarce antique view of the lighthouse "Tower of Corduan" ca. 1636 after an earlier work by Claude Châtillon in 1612. The "Tour de Corduan" is the oldest lighthouse in France and one of the oldest lighthouses in the world. The structure was completed in 1611, more than 35 years after its initial design by Louis de Foix.

Sometimes called the King of Lighthouses because of its large size and extravagant construction details, Le Phare Corduan marks the entrance to the Gironde river near Royan, France. As is common with Tassin engravings numerous sailing vessels are shown offshore the lighthouse, with one firing a blast from its cannon.

Published in the small-sized atlas "Les Plans et profils de toutes les principales villes et lieux considerables de France" by Christophe Nicholas Tassin (d. 1660) . Tassin's background was as a military engineer, and he is best known for his nautical atlas of 30 sheets, dedicated to Richelieu, documenting France's coastline. Tassin's work contains topographic maps, often of militarily important sites, either sketched on site, composed from firsthand drawings by military engineers, or sometimes borrowed from other mapmakers.

CREATOR: Tassin, Christophe Nicholas

PUBLICATION DATE: 1636

GEOGRAPHIC AREA: France

BODY OF WATER: Mediterranean

CONDITION: Very Good. On strong laid paper. Clean.

COLORING: Contemporary hand color.

ENGRAVER:

SIZE: 4 " x 6 "

ITEM PHYSICAL LOCATION: 0

PRICE: $350

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