Titled simply Lot, A. Vuillemin’s 1869 departmental portrait is a consummate fusion of pedagogy and pageantry. The map’s vibrant palette crisply distinguishes administrative limits while an elaborate cartouche anchors the composition with classical flourish. Around the image, Vuillemin integrates concise textual capsules that enumerate population figures, economic indicators, and distances from Paris—an intelligent guide for the traveler and the student alike. Political boundaries are rendered with confident clarity, but cultural life is given equal weight: coats-of-arms, portraits of notable personages, and scenes of daily labor and festivity collectively narrate the region’s identity. Conceived at the close of the Second Empire, this sheet embodies a moment when geography was harnessed to civic instruction, presenting Lot as a living province, intelligible by its numbers yet irresistible in its character.

Vuillemin was among the 19th century’s most persuasive cartographic storytellers, and here his hand is unmistakable. Decorative borders teem with vignettes—pastoral herds, market bustle, and vineyard labors—that speak to Lot’s agricultural backbone. Heraldic devices of principal towns punctuate the margins, while portraits of learned figures and statesmen lend historical gravitas. The result is not mere ornament; imagery and information collaborate to quicken the reader’s sense of place. Color demarcations guide the eye across arrondissements and communes, but the imagination is carried by the scenes: river craft slipping past arched stone bridges, hillside terraces banded with vines, and rural lanes winding toward fortified hill towns. This stylistic synthesis is Vuillemin’s signature: empirical precision enveloped in theatrical elegance.

Geographically, the map composes a lyrical study of limestone plateaus and river-cut valleys. The Lot River, whose dramatic meanders famously embrace Cahors, is traced with expressive sinuosity, joined by tributaries such as the Célé that carve through the causses. Ridges, escarpments, and forested swathes are articulated with refined shading, suggesting both relief and route. The cartouche and accompanying text call out agricultural specialties, from robust wines to pastoral husbandry, reflecting soils and exposures as carefully as any agronomist’s report. Pilgrimage and piety are never far from view in this landscape: sites like Rocamadour and cliff-side sanctuaries find their place in the web of roads, market towns, and river crossings—a geography where devotion, trade, and nature share the same stage.

Urban life is distilled into three radiant nodes—Cahors, Figeac, and Gourdon—each anchoring an arrondissement and each emblematic of a different face of Lot. Cahors unfurls within the river’s loop, a medieval city of arches and towers whose renown in wine and commerce resonates across the sheet. Figeac emerges as a scholarly and mercantile hub, long tied to regional exchange and remembered for sons who unlocked the scripts of distant antiquity. Gourdon, poised on its commanding height, surveys the northern approaches. Vuillemin’s labels and boundary lines bind these centers to a network of parishes, roads, and neighboring departments, emphasizing how jurisdictional order and lived geography overlap. Statistical notes—distance measures, demographic summaries, and economic cues—give administrative abstractions palpable human texture.

Created when France’s departmental framework had matured into a language of governance and education, Vuillemin’s Lot captures a nation thinking in regions. It is part gazetteer, part stage-set: the ornate cartouche hints at allegories of agriculture and industry, while the peripheral texts translate scenery into knowledge. In these plates, Vuillemin advanced a distinctly French cartographic ideal—where aesthetics dignify data, and local pride is taught alongside coordinates. The map’s disciplined depiction of political boundaries, entwined with heraldry, portraits, and scenes of labor and leisure, preserves the 19th-century conviction that geography forms citizens. For the connoisseur, it offers not only a lucid plan of Lot, but an enduring meditation on how a landscape becomes a culture.

Cities and towns on this map

• Cahors (modern population: approx. 19,000)
• Figeac (modern population: approx. 5,800)
• Gourdon (modern population: approx. 4,400)

Notable Features & Landmarks

• Vibrant colors demarcating different regions and departments
• Detailed vignettes depicting local scenes
• Coats-of-arms of various regions
• Portraits of notable historical figures
• Decorative elements around the borders
• Labels indicating political boundaries and department names

Historical and design context

• A. Vuillemin, 1869 (19th-century French departmental mapping)
• Vibrant color palette with intricate vignettes and an ornate cartouche; scenes include coats-of-arms, notable personages, animals, and human activities reflecting cultural and agricultural life
• Descriptive texts accompany each department/colony, providing statistics, distances from Paris, and cultural context
• Emphasis on political boundaries, cultural heritage, and agricultural characteristics; conceived as an educational tool and historical-geographic portrait of the region
• Created when regional mapping served administrative and instructional needs, capturing the political and cultural landscape of 19th-century France

Please double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.

This map looks great at every size, but I always recommend going for a larger size if you have space. That way you can easily make out all of the details.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.

The fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.

If you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the best old maps to see if something else catches your eye.

Please contact me to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.

This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.

This map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.

For most orders, delivery time is about 3 working days. Personalised and customised products take longer, as I have to do the personalisation and send it to you for approval, which usually takes 1 or 2 days.

Please note that very large framed orders usually take longer to make and deliver. 

If you need your order to arrive by a certain date, please contact me before you order so that we can find the best way of making sure you get your order in time.

I print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world. This means your order will be made locally, which cuts down on delivery time and ensures that it won't be damaged during delivery. You'll never pay customs or import duty, and we'll put less CO2 into the air.

All of my maps and art prints are well packaged and sent in a rugged tube if unframed, or surrounded by foam if framed.

I try to send out all orders within 1 or 2 days of receiving your order, though some products (like face masks, mugs and tote bags) can take longer to make.

If you select Express Delivery at checkout your order we will prioritise your order and send it out by 1-day courier (Fedex, DHL, UPS, Parcelforce).

Next Day delivery is also available in some countries (US, UK, Singapore, UAE) but please try to order early in the day so that we can get it sent out on time.

Read my full delivery and local production guide

My standard frame is a gallery style black ash hardwood frame. It is simple and quite modern looking. My standard frame is around 20mm (0.8in) wide.

I use super-clear acrylic (perspex/acrylite) for the frame glass. It's lighter and safer than glass - and it looks better, as the reflectivity is lower.

Six standard frame colours are available for free (black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white and antique gold). Custom framing and mounting/matting is available if you're looking for something else.

Most maps, art and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte (not shiny) cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced box wood frame, and then 'float' the piece within a wood frame. The end result is quite beautiful, and there's no glazing to get in the way.

All frames are provided "ready to hang", with either a string or brackets on the back. Very large frames will have heavy duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.

See some examples of my framed maps and framed canvas maps.

Alternatively, I can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag and other materials.

If you want to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read my size guide first.

Alcune delle mie vecchie mappe sono ora disponibili come tele incorniciate. Per favore contattami se desideri ordinare una dimensione che non è disponibile nel mio negozio.

Le vecchie mappe su tela sono un'alternativa interessante alle mappe incorniciate in modo convenzionale. A seconda del tuo gusto personale e dell'arredamento della stanza, le mappe su tela possono "risaltare" un po' di più rispetto a una mappa incorniciata.

Scopri di più sulle mie mappe su tela incorniciate.

My maps are extremely high quality reproductions of original maps.

I source original, rare maps from libraries, auction houses and private collections around the world, restore them at my London workshop, and then use specialist giclée inks and printers to create beautiful maps that look even better than the original.

My maps are printed on acid-free archival matte (not glossy) paper that feels very high quality and almost like card. In technical terms the paper weight/thickness is 10mil/200gsm. It's perfect for framing.

I print with Epson ultrachrome giclée UV fade resistant pigment inks - some of the best inks you can find.

I can also make maps on canvas, cotton rag and other exotic materials.

Learn more about The Unique Maps Co.

Map personalisation

If you're looking for the perfect anniversary or housewarming gift, I can personalise your map to make it truly unique. For example, I can add a short message, or highlight an important location, or add your family's coat of arms.

The options are almost infinite. Please see my map personalisation page for some wonderful examples of what's possible.

To order a personalised map, select "personalise your map" before adding it to your basket.

Get in touch if you're looking for more complex customisations and personalisations.

Map ageing

I have been asked hundreds of times over the years by customers if they could buy a map that looks even older.

Well, now you can, by selecting Aged before you add a map to your basket.

All the product photos you see on this page show the map in its Original form. This is what the map looks like today.

If you select Aged, I will age your map by hand, using a special and unique process developed through years of studying old maps, talking to researchers to understand the chemistry of aging paper, and of course... lots of practice!

If you're unsure, stick to the Original colour of the map. If you want something a bit darker and older looking, go for Aged.

See some amazing examples of Aged maps.

Se non sei soddisfatto del tuo ordine per qualsiasi motivo, contattami per un rimborso senza problemi. Si prega di consultare la nostra politica di reso e rimborso per ulteriori informazioni.

Sono molto sicuro che ti piacerà la tua mappa restaurata o la stampa d'arte. Lo faccio dal 1984. Sono un venditore Etsy a 5 stelle. Ho venduto decine di migliaia di mappe e stampe d'arte e ho oltre 5.000 recensioni reali a 5 stelle.

Utilizzo un processo unico per restaurare mappe e opere d'arte che richiede molto tempo e lavoro. Trovare le mappe e le illustrazioni originali può richiedere mesi. Utilizzo tecnologia all'avanguardia e incredibilmente costosa per scannerizzare e restaurarle. Di conseguenza, garantisco che le mie mappe e stampe d'arte siano superiori alle altre - ecco perché posso offrire un rimborso senza problemi.

Quasi tutte le mie mappe e stampe d'arte sembrano fantastiche a grandi dimensioni (200 cm, 6,5 piedi+) e posso anche incorniciarle e consegnarle a te, tramite un corriere speciale per oggetti di grandi dimensioni. Contattami per discutere delle tue esigenze specifiche.