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Louis Charles Desnos, Atlas Méthodique et Elémentaire de Géographie et d'Histoire Dédié a Monsieur Le Président Hénault, Paris: Chez l'auteur... et chez Desnos son associé, ingénieur géographe pour les glôbes et sphères, 1761-62, 1st edition

Uncoloured engraved allegorical title page, calligraphic title page, 37 engraved plates of globes, armillary spheres, celestial plans and maps, additional classical half-title (dated 1762), a plate of 'historical trees' showing timelines, and a further 84 engraved maps, tables and biblical illustrations, many with contemporary outline colouring; half morocco but retaining the original boards with new spine.
50.5 x 64.5 x 2 cm

This atlas's first edition came out in two different parts. The first and second volumes each have their own title pages and dates. The first volume talks about how cosmography, geology, astronomy, oceanography, and weather have changed over time. It does this by showing how they have changed over time through plates of globes, spheres, continents, and astronomical systems. With 84 maps and plates for illustrations, the second book is all about historical geography and mapping. The next book that was going to be released was about modern maps, but the present lot doesn't have that. Desnos said there would be a final book, but it never came out.

Louis Charles Desnos (1725-April 18, 1805) was a famous French instrument, map, and globe maker in the 18th century. He was born in Paris and died there. The French author Desnos was born in Pont-Sainte-Maxence, Oise. His father was a cloth dealer. He worked as an apprentice at a metal factory starting in April 1745. Desnos married the widow of Nicolas Hardy, who was the son of Jacques Hardy, who sold maps, globes, and instruments. As Royal Globemaker to King Christian VII of Denmark, Desnos was highly sought after and earned 500 Livres a year as a salary. Every year, Desnos sent the King about 200 Livres worth of maps, books, and atlases in return. As a publisher, Desnos put out a lot of work, and he is often linked to Zannoni and Louis Brion de la Tour (1756–1823). Cartographic experts didn't like Desnos because he published so many maps, or maybe it was because of that they thought he wasn't picky about what maps he published and was dishonest about selecting them. Because of this, Desnos had a long history of court disputes with other Parisian publishers and cartographers of the time. People say that he released everything that was in front of him, regardless of how true it was or whether it broke any copyright laws. Desnos had an office in Paris on Rue St. Jacques.

French geography teacher Claude Buy de Mornas lived from 17?? to 1783. In 1761, he and Louis-Charles Desnos (1725–1805) put out the Atlas Méthodique et Elémentaire de Géographie et d'Histoire. After Buy de Mornas died, Desnos took the plates for the Atlas Méthodique.

Louis Charles Desnos and Claude Buy de Mornas worked together in the same establishments and issued together "La Manniere de Reconnoitre les Principales Etoiles dans le Ciel" (The Manner of Recognizing the Principal Stars in the Sky) in 1761, 1725.

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