Antique Maps by NOLIN, Jean Baptiste.
Jean Baptiste Nolin (c.1657–1708) was a French cartographer and map publisher active in Paris, remembered for a substantial output of engraved maps at the height of France’s late seventeenth-century cartographic renaissance. He matters as one of the principal commercial makers who helped fix the visual language of French mapping for a broad European market, producing both large wall maps and more accessible sheet maps.
Nolin worked within the orbit of the great Parisian geographical establishment and is closely associated with the influence of Vincenzo Coronelli, whose work he helped to disseminate in France; Nolin’s own maps often reflect Coronelli’s geography and decorative idiom. His imprint appears on maps of Europe and the wider world, frequently combining current political information with bold title cartouches and clear engraving.
His career was also marked by controversy, including a well-known dispute with Guillaume Delisle concerning the alleged copying of Delisle’s work, a reminder of the competitive and fast-moving nature of map publishing in the period. Nolin’s maps remain sought after for their scale, decorative appeal, and their place in the transition towards more scientific French cartography.
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