Palestinae delineatio ad geographiae canones revocata.

Henri Le Roy was a French engraver active in the early 17th century. He specialized in architectural and ornamental etchings. His exact birth and death dates are not documented, but he is believed to have been born around 1579 and was active until at least 1651. Le Roy created intricate designs highlighting the Renaissance and Baroque styles that were prevalent during his lifetime. His works include decorative friezes and architectural motifs, which were in demand for their aesthetic appeal and craftsmanship. One of his known pieces, Frieze with Birds, is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and demonstrates his skill with ornamental themes—depicting birds in a stylized, elongated frieze that illustrates the popular motifs of his period.

Le Roy’s engravings were notable for their clarity and precision, and he was often commissioned to decorate books and architectural plans. His name frequently appeared on plates as “Henri Le Roy excu,” indicating that he was both an artist and publisher, a common practice among engravers of that period. His works were collected and admired throughout France and beyond, contributing to his reputation as a skilled and versatile artist of engravings and etchings in decorative arts collections worldwide.

Philippe Briet (1601–1668) was a French Jesuit priest, historian, and cartographer based in Abbeville, France. Known for his meticulous historical and Biblical cartography work, Briet created numerous maps that integrated contemporary and classical geographic knowledge. His most notable publication, Parallela Geographica, released in 1649, featured a collection of maps comparing ancient and modern European geography, focusing on regions such as Sarmatia and encompassing parts of Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania. This ambitious atlas intended to juxtapose old and new geographies, reflecting Briet’s insistence that history could and should traced cartographically.

Briet continued to expand his work with other cartographic projects, including the Theatrum Geographiae Veteris, an atlas of Europe’s ancient regions, and Theatre Geographique de l’Europe in 1653, a detailed volume that mapped European countries and their provinces. Although he initially aimed to cover all continents, only his work on Europe was published, as his manuscript on Asia never reached publication. He collaborated with notable Parisian publishers like Pierre Mariette, contributing to the era’s development of high-quality geographic atlases and engravings.

Pierre Mariette I (1569–1657) was an influential French publisher and engraver recognized for developing French cartography and publishing during the early 17th century. Initially, Mariette focused on publishing art prints but pivoted to cartography after purchasing map plates from Melchior Tavernier in 1644. He partnered with Nicolas Sanson, a foundational figure in French cartography, to produce detailed folio maps and atlases. In this collaboration, Sanson provided geographic expertise and map designs, while Mariette managed engraving, printing, and distribution. Their maps often included both their imprints, reflecting their partnership’s close, interdependent nature.

Mariette’s legacy extended beyond his lifetime, though disputes over rights to the plates emerged between Sanson and Mariette’s heirs after Mariette’s death. A legal settlement in 1674 allocated most plates to Sanson’s family, leading to a mixture of attributions in later editions of the maps. Pierre Mariette’s contributions laid the groundwork for the Mariette family, who continued to impact French publishing and mapmaking well into the 18th century, establishing the Mariette name as synonymous with high-quality cartographic and artistic publishing in France.

Even mat toning in margins. Original outline color.