Plan De La Ville, Cité, Université Et Faubourgs De Paris avec ses Environs, 1700

Paris around the year 1700 unfolds across this finely engraved map, showing the city long before it grew into the metropolis we know today. The Seine curves through the center, threading past the historic islands of the Cité and the Université, while a tight tangle of streets and buildings fills the walled core. Beyond the edges, open fields, gardens, and country estates surround the capital, a reminder that this was still a city with room to breathe.

Maps from this period sit at a nice crossroads between science and decoration, and this one is no exception. The ornate cartouche in the lower right holds the title inside swirling flourishes, a signature touch of an age when mapmaking doubled as artistry. Down both sides run tall columns of alphabetical listings, naming churches, streets, and notable spots so anyone could find their way through the maze. People bought and hung engravings like this not just for navigation but as a proud portrait of one of Europe's leading cities at the start of the eighteenth century.