Henri Abraham Chatelain; 1684-1743.

Little is known about this Parisian born protestant minister.
A prolific engraver he resided in London (from 1710), then in The Hague (from 1721) and finally in Amsterdam from 1728.
His only call to fame is for his contribution to the encyclopedic "Atlas Historique, ou nouvelle introduction à l'histoire, à la chronologie, et à la géographie…", with text by Nicholas Gueudeville.
It was issued several times between 1705 and 1721, and then again between 1732 and 1739.
Most of the maps he prepared for this monumental seven volume work were derived from De L'isle, sometimes seemingly from deWit. They are characteristically replete with detailed annotations and explanations, sometimes to the point of showing much more text than image.

Description, situation & vue de la ville de Mexique, et des deux lacs sur lesquels elle est bâtie…..

This rather large (16 13/16" X 14 7/16") composite document was prepared for the 1705 Atlas Historique (volume 6).
The present item seems to have been printed for a 1719 edition of this work.
It condenses the encyclopedic knowledge of the day on the town of Mexique (i.e.: Tenochtitlan, today's Mexico City).
Six insets are surrounded by a text (in french) providing deep insights on the local population and administrative organization, beliefs and sacrificial practices, geography and topography, history and social lore.
The insets are (from left to right, from top to bottom) showing respectively:
- map of central Mexico.
- bird's eye view of the main temple dedicated to the sun and war god: Huitzilopochtli.
- city plan (as it was at the time of the Spanish conquest in 1522).
- festive dances of natives (directly inspired by the 1597 engravings of Theodore de Bry).
- view of a human sacrifice to the god of war
- bird's eye view of the town on its two lakes before its destruction by Cortez.
No text on verso.