12.789 inches (32.484 06 centimeters). Today the word pied is sometimes used informally in France as a metric unit equal to 30 centimeters.
The 'pouce' was the French "inch" unit, equal to 1/12 pied. Based on the pied de roi, the pouce equals about 1.066 inches or 2.707 centimeters. The word pouce actually means "thumb" in French.
The 'ligne' was the next smallest traditional unit of distance in French speaking countries, equal to 1/12 pouce (French inch) and corresponding closely to the English 'line'. The Swiss ligne is still used throughout the world by watchmakers; it equals about 2.256 millimeters (0.0888 inch) and is further divided into 12 douzièmes.
So...1 ligne=100 toise equals 1:84,600. Simple!
Source used on measurements: "How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement" © 2001 by Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/index.html
1759 Cassini Map of the Mt. Dardon area
This section of the Cassini map clearly shows the extraordinary amount of detail and useful data contained in these documents. The map is centered on Mt. Dardon, with the village of Uxeau to the Southwest. You can clearly see the general topography, roads, individual structures, and many water mills and mill dams. The key for the different map features is below. You can see that each type of structure is identified, as are different types of bridges, mills, and vegetation zones. The walled city of Issy L'Eveque is shown in the upper left, and the number of mill ponds and grain mills in the region is amazing. Few of these remain intact today. Research on the information contained in these maps is ongoing.
1759 Cassini Map key
Portions of the Cassini map, showing Mt. Dardon and Toulon. On the left you can see some of the many mill ponds and dams found throughout the region in the 1700s. Most of these are now gone. Click on the map at right to see some analysis that used this map.
1759 Cassini Map Digitization
Rutgers Graduate Student Bob Wiencek digitizing mylars from the Cassini maps of the region.
The two maps were raster scanned into the system and patched together to make a single data layer. We also manually drafted mylar overlays from the maps of each of the individual categories of useful data. These were then vector digitized into the GIS and georeferenced.
A section of the hydrology mylar at bottom, showing streams and millponds taken from a section of the Cassini map above.
Roads: paved roads, roads, paths, old roads, Roman roads, city streets, city boundaries
Hydrology: mill pond, dam, stream, river (left bank), river (right bank), islands, ponds, canal (left bank), canal (right bank)
Structures: hamlet, farm, free farm, castle, tower, tile works, unknown structure, commanderie (Knights Templars), parish church, parish church ruin, convent, convent ruin, monastery, priory ruin, chapel, chapel ruin, church type #1, church type #2, church type #3, cross, gallows
Mills: water mill, wind mill, mill ruin, bridge
Landcover: forest, moor, meadow, orchard, forest clearing
These will be used for future analysis of the region. Interesting topics will be the spatial distribution of mills and various types of settlements and structures.
17th Century Maps
Burgundy, Willem J. Blaeu, 1631.
Utriusque BURGUNDIAE.... Amsterdam. An early edition of this engraved map of Burgundy. Decorative title cartouche with two figures and surmounted by two coats of arms. Scale cartouche. Latin text on verso. 19 x 15 inches, 500 x 390 mm. Uncoloured. Good condition. From Appendix Theatrii...
19th Century Maps
Victor Levassuer's map of Saône-et-Loire from the
Several 19th Century maps of the region have been located and purchased. The following two images are from Victor Levassuer's 'Atlas National Illustré' of France. This map was purchased by the author in Paris, and these maps are found frequently in sidewalk stalls in France. The atlas was first published in 1847 and continued to 1854, it is not known which edition the author's map is from. The maps have lovely decorated borders which relate to the region, 