One of the earliest, and most influential examples of sentimental cartography is the Carte de Tendre, an example of the highly refined imagination prevalent in 17th century French literary salons.

The fictional country of Tendre (‘Tender’) was inspired by Clélie, Histoire romaine, a novel by Madeleine de Scudéry (1607-1701), whose much-frequented and tone-setting salon was one of the focal points of Préciosité, a rarefied literary genre noted for its effusive erudition and gallantry.

The map of Tendre is a topographic allegory, representing the stations of love as if they were real paths and places. [...]

Read more (Strange Maps) | Annotated map (in French)