File:Ca. 1694 map of Paris by G. Monbard.jpg

English: Curious variant edition of this 17th Century large format plan of Paris, published by G. Monbard.

Our research located only a single example of this map, in the Bibliotheque Nationale de France.

The key gives names of streets, churches and the usual public buildings but also identifies the "hotels" (city homes) of the nobility, the Academy of Arts and Manufacturing at Gobelin, and more. This example includes contemporary printed paper overlays pasted onto it. There is also a "ghost" image of a building at the Invalides.

This is an unrecorded early state of Monbard's plan, pre-dating the 1694 edition in the BNF. Some of the differences on the present example include:

The present example is unsigned and undated. The BNF example states "Il se Vend a Paris Chez G. Monbard Gr. Rue S. Iaques Avec Permission 1694." The bridge arches for Pont St. Michel and Le Petit Pont have not yet been added. The top street line on Rue de Vaugirard is less complete and the signature initial in the bottom right corner are more finely executed on the present example. In the Chateau de Louvres, the two buildings closest to the Seine are not yet shown and the "Academie des Peintres at the Louvre" name does not yet appear. At the bottom center, the lettering for "l'Isle des Cygnes de Mast ou de Querelle" has not been added yet and the shape of the Isle is different. Below Port et Rue de Richeleau, to the right of Rue St. Augustin, the "Rue Paydeau is shown (eliminated on the BNF map) and the Nouveau Cours to the left is not yet named. The lettering for "les Champs Elizees" is different and the dotted lines for "Cours la Reyne" are different -- the present example utilizing a paste down in this section. Between Rue St. Augstin and Ru des Petits Champs, the church words "Nouvelles Catholiq" have not yet been added between les Ste. Anne and H. de Lionne. In the block containing the Abbaye St. Martin on Rue Saint Martin, there is one less structure and the N. de la Carole is unnamed. On the Pont Marie, the right section of the Bridge and the letters "Nost" are considerably improved and darker and utilizes a paste down. The streets sketched in above the Bastille are more tentatively sketched below R. Moreau. The coastline features on either side of Isle Louvier are less complete and the water contour lines less finished. Rue des Saussayes is not yet named. The windmill to the left of the L in Fauxbourg St. Michel has not been added.

We were unable to locate information on Monbard. The plan is clearly very rare, with some of the variant details, such as the lack of the 2 buildings at Chateau de Louvres, suggesting a date that pre-dates the 1694 edition of the map.