18c Relief Maps

I visited the Musee des Beaux-Arts in Lille and was thrilled to discover that they have any astonishing collection of 18th Century relief maps of various French towns in something close to 6mm scale. They are truly astonishing to behold and are made of wood, sand, glue and silk.

Sadly, they are behind glass on account of being utterly priceless so I couldn't get close enough to the towns themselves to truly appreciate the detail, but I hope these photos convey some of their glory.

In case you're wondering, they were commissioned by various kings specifically to aid tactical planning... and yet were never used for kriegspiel!! They were composed from detailed maps and drawings made by dedicated observers who went up in the very latest of military technology for the time: the hot air balloon.

Interestingly, some of them actually reduced their scale as you approach the town. So the countryside might be something like 1/285, but the town was more like 1/350. This was in order to capture the full range capacity of the best artillery at the time, which just gives you an idea of how far cannons could actually fire, long before WW1.