“Map 7 & 8. The la Motte-Husson Portolan (Mayenne, France, 17th Century)

If, as Arthur Robinson wrote in his Elements of Cartography, “maps are to be looked at while charts are to be worked on”, then portolans are the quintessential charts, navigational guides that do not wrestle with other aspects of representation. The Margrave was ecstatic when he acquired the la Motte-Husson Portolan, believing that it would finally allow him to contribute to the defense of the nation. Over time a confusing series representing the same location emerged, with shifting sailing directions. Exhaustive archival investigation revealed that the Baglion de la Dufferie family had the series of prints made to mark the different routes used by the toy sailboats of the Dauphin (the future Louis XIII) to cross the moat of their home in Mayenne, the Chateau de la Motte-Husson. This discovery made thirty years after the series was acquired precipitated a severe depression – it was the reason von Willebrand chose to recuperate in the Kaiserslautern spa where he ultimately expired.”

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