673 x 641 mm. Joined at middle, folds flattenened, some toning, overall excellent condition.

This is one of a group of extremely rare broadsides created by Tavernier. During the Huguenot wars of the 1620s, Tavernier was one of several Parisian publishers who issued large sheets devoted to sieges such as Saint-Jean-d’Angély, Montauban, La Rochelle, and Royan. These broadsides combined a large copperplate engraving of the besieged town with letterpress text recounting the royal army’s operations. They belong to the genre of actualité imprimée—printed news designed to celebrate royal authority and provide the public with visual “proof” of events as they unfolded.

The graphics in these broadsides were taken from field drawings prepared by military engineers present at the sieges, typically commissioned by the King specifically to speed news from the battlefield to Paris. These plans, surveyed on site, documented fortifications, siege lines, and the surrounding topography with measured accuracy. Publishers like Tavernier obtained these drawings and adapted them for copperplate engraving. The printed image was then paired with a narrative text and a table of references linking the description to details on the plan. This collaboration between engravers, publishers, and royal engineers produced works that were at once propaganda, cartography, and news reporting.

Saint-Jean-d’Angély, located in Poitou-Charentes, was a strategically important town, historically contested between the French crown and the Huguenots. The siege of 1621 was part of Louis XIII’s broader campaign to reassert Catholic royal authority over Protestant-controlled cities, following a rebellion by Huguenot leaders against perceived infringements on their rights. The city was besieged by royalist forces in May 1621 under Marshal d’Ancre and the Duke of Épernon, and after a determined resistance, it surrendered in June 1621.

The letterpress text below the map recounts the city's history, its previous fortifications, and its role in the ongoing conflict between Protestants and Catholics. It describes the placement of siege batteries, trenches, and fortifications built to secure the town’s submission. The numbered key on the right identifies specific locations, including city gates, strongholds, and batteries by their commanders.

Melchior Tavernier, a Parisian engraver and publisher, was known for producing royalist military prints during the reign of Louis XIII. His works often served both as strategic military documents and propaganda tools, reinforcing the monarchy’s justification for military action. The prominence given to the royal artillery and the besieging forces reflects the print’s role in celebrating the power and effectiveness of Louis XIII’s army.

This plan of Saint-Jean-d’Angély is a significant example of early seventeenth-century French siege cartography, illustrating the geopolitical struggle between the Bourbon monarchy and the Huguenot strongholds in western France.

Extremely rare, we note only an example at the Bibliotheque National de France and a damaged example (lacking decorative border around text) in the Royal Collection Trust (UK).