Map of Mythical and Philosophical Geography - Atlantis

Primitive History of the World – Map of the travels of Adim (Adam) and Atlantis. "Carte pour servir à l’Histoire primitive du Monde, selon le système adopté dans les Lettres à Sophie, avec la ligne indiquée des Voyages d’Adim" [Map to serve for the Primitive History of the World, according to the system adopted in the Letters to Sophie, with the indicated line of the Travels of Adim]. FABRE D’OLIVET, Antoine. Drawn by Lettu. Paris, Lavillette et Compagnie, An IX – 1801. Sheet dimensions: 29.5 x 40.4 cm. Platemark dimensions: 28.6 x 37.6 cm. Copper engraving. Hand coloring. Restored tear in the left margin. Reinforcements to folds on the verso. Restored loss to the left margin. Overall still attractive and in fair condition. Rare and curious depiction of the primitive world envisioned by Antoine Fabre d’Olivet (1767–1825), published in the first edition of his Lettres à Sophie sur l’Histoire. In it, Fabre d’Olivet illustrates his history of the origins of humanity. Blending biblical traditions, ancient mythologies, and accounts handed down by classical authors, he attempts to reconstruct the earliest lands, peoples, and migrations of human history. Atlantis and the Atlanteans hold a prominent place in this framework, alongside the Scythians, the Fortunate Isles, the Cassiterides, the territory of the Amazons, the island of Hyperborea, and the Garden of the Hesperides. The map materializes this conception, notably featuring the line of the "Travels of Adim"—that is, the route attributed to Adam in this primitive geography. It thus constitutes less a traditional geographical map than a true conjectural and mythical cartography of the origins of humanity, typical of the late 18th- and early 19th-century attempts to reconcile biblical accounts with the traditions and mythologies of ancient peoples. A singular French map of the origins of the world, where biblical history meets the myth of Atlantis and the earliest migrations of mankind.