NOLIN, J.-B. - Le Théâtre du monde dédié au roi contenant les cartes générales et particulières des royaumes et états qui le composent.

The present example of the Théâtre du monde is the reissue of 1746 by Jean-Baptiste Nolin II. This scarce atlas is illustrated with 123 maps, mostly double-page, in original outline color.
The panels for the wall maps are not included in the atlas. The wall maps with decorative borders were separately published and were sold to be hung on a wall.
The maps are dated from 1694 (Catalogne) to 1745. On the verso, they have old numbers in ink referring to the list of contents up to number 36, after which the numbering shifts by a number.
Like the Library of Congress' copy, our atlas includes maps with the names of Nolin's widow (Diocèse d’Uzes) and Nolin’s son (Europe in 4 sheets).
From the year 1740 onwards, J-B. Nolin II has moved, or returned to the rue Saint-Jacques, maps are bearing the imprint “A présent rue St. Jacques à l’Enseigne de la Place des Victoires”. However, some maps bear the shop sign “Au Lion d’Argent” (to the Silver Lion) with the imprint “A present rue St. Jacques à l’Enseigne du Lion d’Argent “, the World and Asia maps in 4 sheets bear this imprint.

Other examples :
This is the fourth known example of this Nolin atlas and, with 123 maps, the largest known example. Two copies of the atlas are recorded by Pastoureau in American libraries with the engraved date 170[.]; the one in the Yale University Library in New Haven has a manuscript addition changing the date into 1707, and the other in the Library of Congress in Washington with the maps dated from 1688 to 1744. Another copy, including 102 maps, is held by the BnF in Paris with the engraved date 170[.] but published by Nolin II c. 1746.
All exemplars are rare, specifically when they contain the wall and large maps. Our copy includes the wall maps of the world, four continents, France and many maps in two or three sheets: La Rochelle, Canal du Languedoc, Allemagne, Danube, Gallice, Costes d’Espagne and Catalogne.
The wall map of the world features the Mer de Corée and the Mer de l’Ouest (reduced in size), that of America features the mythical Mer de l’Ouest (reduced in size), and that of Asia features Mer et Golfe de Corée. The map of Siam Le Royaume de Siam… is also historically important for Southeast Asia.
Together with the wall maps, the atlas contains important maps for America: Nouveau Mexique, Archipelague du Mexique and Nouvelle France.