Alexis-Hubert JAILLOT

1632 - 1712

Alexis-Hubert Jaillot was born circa 1632 in Saint-Oyan (Franche-Comté) and died on November 2 or 3, 1712, in Paris. Born to Jean Jaillot and Etiennette Fournier, he grew up in a region known for its wood and ivory carving and initially trained alongside his older brother, Pierre-Simon Jaillot, as a sculptor rather than a mapmaker. In 1657, he moved to Paris, where his entry into the cartographic and publishing trade occurred through his 1664 marriage to Jeanne Berey. She was the daughter of Nicolas Berey I, an established Parisian map colourist, print dealer, and publisher. Upon the deaths of his father-in-law in 1665 and his brother-in-law, Nicolas Berey II, in 1667, Jaillot inherited the prominent publishing firm “Aux Deux Globes” on the Quai des Grands Augustins, establishing a multi-generational cartographic dynasty that was later continued by his son, Bernard Jean Hyacinthe Jaillot, and his grandson, Bernard Antoine Jaillot.

Jaillot played a critical role in transitioning the centre of the global mapmaking trade from Amsterdam to Paris in the late 17^th century, particularly after a catastrophic fire destroyed the preeminent Dutch printing house of Blaeu in 1672. Though not an original geographer himself, Jaillot leveraged his artistic background as a sculptor to introduce exceptional aesthetic refinement, elaborate allegorical cartouches, and grand formats to French map production. His monumental breakthrough came from a direct collaboration with Guillaume Sanson and the other heirs of Nicolas Sanson, the premier French cartographer of the era, with Jaillot acquiring, re-engraving, enlarging, and systematically updating Sanson’s original copper plates. His artistic execution and politically calculated map decorations, which frequently extolled the military triumphs of King Louis XIV, earned him the title of Géographe du Roi in 1686, complete with a royal stipend. His masterworks and key publications include the Atlas Nouveau (first published in 1692) and the Atlas François (compiled between 1692 and 1695), which successfully merged the scientific precision of the Sanson family with spectacular Baroque artistry.

Jaillot will be remembered as the definitive publisher of the Golden Age of French cartography, who elevated mapmaking from a purely geographical science into a powerful medium of royal prestige and exquisite visual art.