Maps
Les
Bains de Monferan
There
is an extraordinary collection of 18th century maps of
France known together as the Carte de Cassini, named after a dynasty
of four Italian-French astronomers who worked, father and son, at the Paris observatory.
César-François Cassini de Thury, the third generation, took on the challenge of 'measuring distances by triangulation and identifying the exact location of every named place' as well as 'unmoving elements of the landscape'.
The maps are fantastically accurate. The work was finished by his son, Jean-Dominique, who supervised - it seems reluctantly - the transfer of the originals to the French war office in 1793.
The national map is divided into many sections. Where do you think Rennes-les-Bains falls?
Rennes-les-Bains was known in the 18th century as Les Bains de Monferan - probably a reference to blacksmithing which took place in the village of Montferrand on a hill to the northwest. Rennes was the spa town in the valley below. And you can find Les Bains de Monferan at the top of the image on this page.
You see, just as some elements of the landscape are 'unmovable', just as toast falls butter-side-down, it seems that any time you want to find some every important geographical feature on a map, it's either on the fold or in the spine between the pages or, as in this case, on the edge of a sheet.
