Atlas de la France Vinicole: Tome VI - Les Eaux-de-Vie de France. Le Cognac
Paris, Louis Larmat, 1947. Larmat, Louis. Atlas de la France Vinicole: Tome VI - Les Eaux-de-Vie de France Le Cognac. [FIRST EDITION] Louis Larmat: Paris, 1947. Folio (445x325mm) loose sheets in portfolio, 47,[1]pp, 6 maps, one sheet
Second-hand softcover
LARMAT, Louis (1890 - 19??)
Atlas de la France Vinicole: publié sous le haut patronage due comité national des appellations d'origine des vins et eaux de vie, du comité national de propagande en faveur du vin, du sydnicat national du commerce en gros des vins, cidres, spiritueux et liqueurs de Franc - Tome VI - "Les Eaux-de-Vie de France Le Cognac".
Paris : Louis Larmat Éditeur, 1947. First Edition. Printed by Georges Girard Imp, Paris. Prefaces by J Capus, Raymond Braconnier, Gabriel Verdier, Maurice Hennessy and Lucien Roux with contributions for each appellation by a member of the relevant appellation committee.
Folio (445x325mm) unbound loose sheets as issued in the publisher's original illustrated cream heavy paper portfolio, 47,[1]pp. One folded sheet of graphs and sample ageing labels; six large polychrome lithograph folding maps; monochrome engraved tailpieces to each signature; numerous sepia héliogravure illustrations relating to Cognac production. Multilingual: parts of the text are in French, German, English and Italian. As originally issued. The maps are I. Carte Générale Le Cognac (525x710mm); II. Grande Champagne (620x445mm); III. Petite Champagne et Borderies (620x445mm); IV. Fins Bois (620x445mm); V. Bons Bois (620x445mm); VI. Bois Ordinaires & Bois Communs dits a Terroir. Portfolio edges faintly soiled; top right corner of loose sheets gently bruised, maps fine. Otherwise a near fine copy.
¶ "The relationship between maps and wine is a very intimate one. Wine is, after all, the unique agricultural product whose price depends entirely on where it comes from. ... There is one classic wine atlas Louis Larmat's Atlas de la France Vinicole... published with the help of the French wine authorities in the 1940s. It is incomplete, even of France, but some of its maps are masterpieces which will not be surpassed."¹
In each volume the detailed rules of the relevant AOC were set out, informed by general and regional maps. The maps are exquisitely drawn detailing effortlessly yet precisely the contours, elevations and other details relevant to the terroir. In recognition of their excellence, the Larmat Atlases were honored with the Prix d'Agriculture - Gold Medal of the National Academy of Sciences, Literature and Arts of Bordeaux, and the Gold Medal of the Academy of Agriculture of France.
Not much is known about Larmat or the publication of the maps, as they were mostly published during the German occupation of France. He was a French cartographer who made his debut publication in 1924 in Provence. During the 1930s and 40s, he was a publisher in Paris with two separate business addresses. In addition to the atlases (later imprints and editions were in a smaller format) Larmat published two further volumes commissioned by the INAO post war, Le Vignoble Girondin (1947) and Le Vignoble et le Vin de Champagne (1951).
An excellent monograph, a beautiful collection of appellation maps and an important addition to the wine literature on the Charente and the production of Cognac.
Scarce.
¹ Hugh Johnson, World Atlas of Wine, London : Mitchell Beazley, 1971.
Item #11316
Price: $1,800.00 AUD