The Carte du Canton Map Trio

The Carte du Canton Map Trio are part of the inspiration for my latest collection of "Paris inspired" designs.

Several years ago during an antiquing trip to Atlanta, I found a beautiful trio of antique French maps on "rag" paper. They had been brought over by a store down South who searched the countryside flea markets for their store and brought back a container a few times each year. I immediately fell in love with their color, the edges of the paper, and their size. With a background in interior design, I envisioned them in a room with 10' ceilings, stacked in floating glass frames. Unfortunately, they have remained rolled in my spare room, but continue to be a source of inspiration every time I pull them out. French cartographers were popular in the 1800's and the mapmaker created a series by region or city. I have three, Carte du Canton de Riscle, Jecun, and Plaisance, dated 1880 to 1883.  The patina of the paper is really exceptional and made me curious about how maps were created in the 17th century.

The maps were inspiration for several of my pieces including the Coco Silk Paris Bow Top and Paris Bow Half Wrap.