1710 Six Portfolio Pages Depicting Lapland, its People and Culture

This group of six portfolio pages from Chatelain's Atlas Historique starts with an intriguing authentic antique map of Lapland, illustrating the territory of an ancient and legendary people, the Laplanders. Sources indicate that these indigenous inhabitants of some of the most inhospitable and cold regions of Europe have been there for at least six thousand years, that they settled there at a time when the climate was very different from that of recent times (recorded history).The first page, entitled Carte de la Laponie Suedoise, Chatelain with his usual enthusiasm and eye for detail, provides us an enigmatic yet intimate look into the lives and customs of these ancient peoples. The map shows a portion of Lapland territory which, in its entirety, covers a vast region located north of the Arctic Circle stretching across areas of Finland, Sweden, Norway and even parts of Russia.The map shows the Gulf of Bothnia, which is the northernmost portion of the Baltic Sea, and is situated betwee