Faden's fine and decorative reduction of Cassini's monumental map of France, outlining the political make up of the nascent French Republic.

Cassini's map published between 1750 and 1815, was based on trigonometrical surveying and consisted of 182 sheets. It was the largest and most detailed map of any country produced at the time, and would become the inspiration for the great surveys of the nineteenth century, including the Ordnance Survey in Britain and the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India.

William Faden (1750-1836) began his career in cartography after taking over the business of Thomas Jefferys, a highly respected British mapmaker. Initially publishing under the name Faden and Jefferys, he followed his predecessor by specialising in maps of North America, resulting in the publication of a collection of them in the 'North American Atlas' in 1777. Twice honoured by the Royal Society for his work, he became Geographer to the King in 1783, and was chosen in 1801 to create and print the first of the Ordnance survey maps.