NOLIN, J. B. (the younger). - Le Royaume de France avec ses acquisitions ; Divisé en Provinces et en Gouvernemens etc. Dressé sur les Mémoires les plus Nouveaux et Dédié à Louis le Grand Roy de France et de Navarre / par son très Humble serviteur…

Impressive wall map of France decorated with a large figurative title cartouche, a dedication cartouche to the glory of the King of France Louis XIV, and plans of battles won by Louis XIV: "Conquestes du Roy depuis la ligue d'Ausbourg 1686" (king's conquests since the league of Augsburg 1686); the map is surrounded by portraits of all the Kings of France from Pharamond to Louis XV.

Title cartouche with the imprint "A Paris Chez J.B. Nolin sur le Quay de l'Horloge du Palais, Vers le Pont Neuf, a l'enseigne de la Place des Victoires Avec privilege du Roy à présent R. St. Jacques au-dessus de la rue des Mathurins à l'enseigne de la Place des Victoires et du Lion d'Argent". The cartouche has been drawn by Arnoud painter to the King and engraved by J.B. Nolin.

The symbolism of the title cartouche: Louis XIV seated, crushing Medusa with his foot, with a woman at his side who may represent Minerva, goddess of reason and temporal power. Behind, another woman holds the chalice, a symbol of the Christian religion. Behind, sun rays dazzle characters, symbolizing the fear of God and reinforcing the idea of the king as a divine and enlightened figure. The scene is surmounted by a Renommée with 2 trumpets. On the left, a seated Hercules with a lion's skin symbolizes strength. Standing to the king's right, a woman crowned with laurels presents a map, which could be England. At the bottom right of the cartouche are a globe and a painter's palette, making Louis XIV a protector of science and arts).

The decorative border including the kings' dynasty up to louis XV, has been separately engraved and added to the map. The King's portraits are mostly engraved after those of the "Cabinet du Roy". Louis XV is represented as a child with a text glorifying him and the Royalty, perhaps at the time of the Regency.

We have not been able to locate any example of this map surrounded by this border.

Jean-Baptiste Nolin is the name of both father and son (père ca. 1657–1708, fils 1686–1762) engravers (Nolin père graveur du roi), cartographers and booksellers. Nolin père drew heavily on the maps of Coronelli and of Jean-Nicholas de Tralage (alias Sieur de Tillemon), but the beauty and scope of his maps are genuine achievements. After the death of the elder Nolin, the younger continued to update, publish and sell the splendid maps from the family publishing-house-cum-bookshop on the Quai de l’Horloge, where other major cartographers (de Fer, de l’Isle, du Val et al.) set up shop on the north coast of the Île de la Cité in Paris.

Louis XV, known as Louis the Beloved, was King of France from 1 September 1715 until he died in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity in 1723, the kingdom was ruled by his grand-uncle Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, as Regent of France.