Antique maps by Pierre-Gilles Chanlaire

Pierre-Gilles Chanlaire, a French geographer and statistician, made his mark on cartography in the late 18th and early 19th centuries through his administrative work and thematic publications. A detailed presentation is provided at the bottom of this page.

An expert in land registry and forestry

Pierre-Gilles Chanlaire was born in Wassy on June 21, 1758. He pursued an administrative career within the Ministry of Finance, where he was attached to the topographical office of the land registry. Under the Consulate, his duties expanded to include the General Administration of Forests.

Under the direction of Administrator Chauvet, he was entrusted with the formation of forest districts and the management of forests. In November 1801 (9 Frimaire, Year X), he drafted the Instruction for Forest Surveyors, a document aimed at establishing uniformity in the layout of forest plans. Concurrently, he co-edited the journal Annales forestières between 1808 and 1816.

Geographical publications and atlases

The work of Pierre-Gilles Chanlaire consists of several works on statistics and geography. In 1802, he published in Paris the General overview of the new division of France. His expertise is also reflected in descriptive works, such as theTopographical and statistical description of France published in 1810.

In the field of pure cartography, he is responsible for the publication of several major atlases:

  • Atlas of large maps of the theater of war in the East, Egypt, the Rhine, and Belgium.
  • Atlas of France in departments, composed of 86 maps and published in 1818.
  • Map of the West Indies (1795), produced in collaboration with Edme Mentelle.

Pierre-Gilles Chanlaire, sometimes mentioned under the name Pierre Grégoire Chanlaire in some notices, died in Paris on March 8, 1817.

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