Maps
Levasseur
In
1838, a young geographer named Victor
Levasseur published a large leather-bound volume of maps
of the départements of France, each page measuring a generous
53 cm by 35 cm.
At the time, France had 86 départements, including colonies in America, Africa and Asia. Each page was lavishly illustrated with engravings related to the geography and commerce of each location, plus tables of statistics, anecdotes and so on. Levasseur took more trouble over these illuminations than he did over his maps.
In the first half of the 19th century, then, the hilltop Rennes still doesn’t have its surname le château. A tiny letter symbol relates that a permanent post office could be found in Couiza; Les Bains de Monferan have become Les Bains de Rennes.
Soon the railway and the efforts of an enthusiastic, charismatic doctor convinced of the therapeutic effects of the bains de Rennes would transform the riverside village into a fashionable resort.
