Duval was Geographer to Louis XIV of France when this map was first issued, which meant that he had greater access to sensitive information than most mapmakers, permission to publish it, and enough commercial gravitas to ensure that this map proved popular. It went through three separate editions, the first in 1674, another in 1677 and the last, as here, in 1686, by Duval’s wife and daughters.

The geography of the map is orthodox for the period, with salient features such as the island of California, the mythical land of ‘Yesso’ leading to the equally mythical Straits of Anian, and even the antiquated portrayal of the Great Southern Land, here in an uneasy relationship with recent Dutch discoveries in New Holland or modern Australia. The ‘Terres Antarctiques dites Australes et Magellaniques et Inconnues’ first began appearing on maps of the sixteenth century to account for unverified reports and sightings of Pacific Islands together with the unknown geographical parameters of areas such as New Guinea, Tierra del Fuego, Australia, and New Zealand. Much of the geography shown on this map was derived from the maps first issued by Duval’s uncle, Nicolas Sanson, approximately twenty years earlier.

First published by Pierre Duval (1619–1683) in 1674, the map was reissued by Pierre’s daughter, Marie Angélique Duval in 1686. At the time of its publication, Pierre Duval was serving as Royal Geographer to the King of France and his maps were of great commercial and geopolitical importance. The map identifies the routes to and from the ‘Indies Occidentales’ and ‘Indes Orientales’, with small sailing ships shown on each route. As noted by Shirley (2001, 465), the routes illustrated are those used by French and English ships, rather than the more southerly routes across the Indian Ocean, and then to the north, preferred by the Dutch.

When Pierre Duval died in 1683, the business passed to his widow and their two daughters, Marie-Angélique and Michelle. One or both daughters continued to publish maps until at least 1707 from ‘Chez Mlle. Duval’ at their father's former address. Marie-Angélique Duval then married Guillaume Delisle, often considered the first scientific geographer and one of France's great cartographers. After Delisle's death in 1726, Marie-Angélique Duval again took over the business, publishing her late husband's atlas until the firm could be passed to Delisle's nephew, Philippe Buache.

Pierre Duval’s trade map was first published in 1674 and reissued by his daughter Marie Angélique Duval in 1686 who took over the business following her father’s death in 1683. She continued to publish maps until at least 1707 before marrying Guillaume De L’Isle, often considered the first scientific geographer and one of France’s great cartographers. After De L’Isle’s death in 1726, Marie Angélique Duval again took over the business, publishing her late-husband’s atlas until the firm could be passed to De L’Isle’s nephew, Philippe Buache.

The geography of the map is orthodox for the period with salient features such as the island of California, the mythical land of ‘Yesso’ leading to the equally mythical Straits of Anian, and even the antiquated portrayal of the ‘Great Southern Land’, here in an uneasy relationship with recent Dutch discoveries in New Holland or modern Australia. The importance of this map does not lie in its geography, however, but rather in its theme. The title states that it is ‘a map of commerce’, and it carefully plots the outbound and inbound marine routes between France and Spain and the distant and exotic lands of the East and West Indies. The route to the Far East was the favoured bearing used by English and French ships, following a more northern bearing on the Indian Ocean, as opposed to the Dutch, who usually sailed further south. 

The importance of this map does not lie in its geography, rather but in its theme. The title states that it is a ‘a map of commerce’ and it carefully plots the outbound and inbound marine routes between France and Spain and the distant and exotic lands of the East and West Indies. The route to the Far East is the favoured bearing used by English and French ships, following a more northern bearing on the Indian Ocean, as opposed to the Dutch, who usually sailed further south. The Atlantic routes were more universal, showing the way to the newly established French and English plantations on the West Indian Islands as well as the Spanish Main and Portuguese possessions in South America. Finally, the Pacific shows the Spanish track back and forth between Manila and the west coast of Central America, the route of the famed ‘Manila Galleons’. A key on the upper left corner of the maps differentiates between the outbound and inbound routes.

It is quite extraordinary to have information of this nature portrayed on a map. While printed accounts of the lives of merchants, travellers, and adventurers were popular and widely available, often including a map showing the specific route of the author, it is a different matter to have general trading routes so graphically available on a map. Just a few decades prior, battles and wars had literally been fought by European powers and their allies who were attempting to both monopolise these routes and keep them secret.

Duval’s map is notable not so much for its geographical advances or significance but more for being one of the earliest maps specifically marking trade routes to the East and West Indies. This edition published after Duval’s death by his wife and daughters.

Double-page engraved copperplate map of the world on a Mercator projection, with contemporary hand-colour in outline.

A Universal Trade Map

Carte Universelle du Commerce

Pierre Duval's Trade Map, reissued by Marie Angélique Duval 

That is to Say, a Hydrographic Map, in Which the Coasts of the 4 Parts of the World are Described Accurately, with the Navigational Routes to Both the West and East Indies. By P. Du-Val Geographer to the King.

C’est a Dire Carte Hidrographique, ou Sont Exactement Decrites, Les Costes des 4 Parties du Monde, Avecque les Routes pour la Navigation des Indes, Occidentales et Orientales. Par P. Du-Val Geographe Ordinaire du Roi.