Fascinating and strictly contemporary map of Europe.

Manuscript, 111,5 x 164,5 cm (weapon on pasted paper, glue and water stains, sm. defects).

Cut in parts and pasted on cloth.

Manuscript map dedicated to Caroline Bonaparte (1782-1839), the younger sister of Napoleon. The dedication dates from the time Caroline was queen of Naples during the reign of her spouse there, and more specifically when she was regent of Naples during his absence because of the German Campaign in 1813. The importance of the map should be interpreted in this context. Instead of depicting just Naples, it shows the borders of France, and the territories of its allies: the Confederation of the Rhine, the Duchy of Warsaw and Denmark, together with the member states of the Sixth Coalition: Austria, Prussia, Russia, and also Saxony, Bavaria and Wurtemburg. The map was dated a few days before the Battle of Leipzig which was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813. Many of the place-names in pink refer to events in the Napoleonic wars, e.g. Gera, Kosel etc.The map includes the Illyrian Provinces, an autonomous province of France during the First French Empire that was invaded by Austria in 1813. The map style is slightly different from usual contemporary land surveys. Particularly charming are the letters decorated with bricks, hearts, and flowers. The map scale includes the "myriamètre", a unit of distance adopted during the revolution.
Little is known about the map maker or dedicator, Frid. Hel. d'Ayzac, but he might have been related to the French poet and art historian Félicie d'Ayzac (1801–1881). As a matter of fact, Félicie's father Claude-Louis (b. 1761-1832) was the librarian and secretary of Caroline in Naples. Remarkable in this context is the presence of a coloured manuscript map in the Neapolitan State Library offered by Félicie d'Ayzac to Princess Laetitia (Planisfero a son Altesse Royale, Madame la Princesse Laetitia [...] offert par [...] Félicie D'Ayzac. Cartografia antica - ms. color. Naples, National Library, PALATINA Banc. 07. 060).
Ref. Revue du Dauphiné et du Vivarais (Isère, Drôme, Hautes-Alpes, Ardèche): Recueil mensuel historique, archéologique et littéraire, Volume 1 (Impr. Savigné., 1877), pp. 515.