Who’s the cartographer?: maps and mobility of Joseph de Ferraris

Since a few decades historical cartographical studies started to emphasize the social and spatial context of the map maker. The fact that the so-called “cartographer” could fulfill different roles in map production, is less discussed. Whom we now consider a cartographer, may have been entitled by his contemporaries as cosmographer, land surveyor, designer, printer, military man or manager. If any map maker would actually have designed, drawn, or printed a map is a disputable fact. The life and pursuits of the Austrian general Joseph de Ferraris (1726-1814) shows in particular the complex role of the eighteenth century cartographer. Under Ferraris ’s guidance the artillery corps of the Austrian Netherlands carried out a mapping project of the territory between 1770 and 1777. The resulting large scale map is considered a milestone in the history of Belgian cartography. We will use Ferraris ‘s maps and private correspondence to explain his cartographic innovations as regards the eighteenth century social, cultural and spatial context. Eighteenth century cartographic theories about maps, projection and land surveying as discussed in Diderot ’s Encyclopédie were indeed not easily put in practice. Good ideas –not necessarily one’s own- were in need of an excellent team, financial aids, intense networking, high mobility and ... a devoted wife to accomplish a mapping project.

Jaar van publicatie:2015