Fer, Nicolas

The “Geographer of Paris” he was the son of Antoine (d. 1673) and Genevieve (d. 1690) de Fer.
Antoine was a Parisian print and mapseller, and a close associate of Nicolas Berey, Melchior
Tavernier and Jacques Lagnet during the middle years of the Century. Antoine never achieved first rank status, his main speciality being the republication of plates that he purchased
from other Parisian mapsellers and editors. Nicolas took over the family business after the death of his mother, and built it into a flourishing map publisher. His publications included “Atlas Royal…” in editions of 1695, 1697 and 1699, for which he used maps of Sanson, Jaillot and others;
Robbe’s “Methode pour apprendre facilement la Geographie, contenant un abrégé de la sphère, et
un traité de la navigation” for which de Fer is credited with the maps, first edition 1689, editions at
least through the seventh in 1721; “Petit et Nouveau Atlas” (19 maps) in 1697, 1705 and 1723; and “Introduction a la Geographie” in 1717. His sign and emblem was the Sphère Royale,
originally that of Tavernier, to which he was greatly attached and which appears on a large number
of his works. His estate was divided between his three daughters, all of whose husbands were
closely involved in the Parisian engraving and publishing business: Guillaume Danet, bookseller;
Remi Richer, engraver, and Jaques–Francois Besnard or Bénard, engraver to the King of Spain. de
Fer’s maps and atlases continued to be published by his heirs for another 20–30 years.