The only map here of a country that never existed. In 1654, in Madeleine de Scudéry's Paris salon, the wits charted the geography of love itself: the River of Inclination winding past the villages of Tender Notes and Pretty Verses, the treacherous Lake of Indifference, the Dangerous Sea lying beyond. To cross it well was to court well. Engraved for her novel Clélie, the Carte de Tendre is cartography turned entirely to feeling — the most romantic map ever printed, and a love letter disguised as a chart.

Maker: Madeleine de Scudéry; engraved by François Chauveau
Date: 1654
Medium of the original: Engraving
Original held by: From the novel Clélie
Credit: From the novel Clélie
Rights: Public domain, verified
Catalogue number: PA-00332

As chosen: 24 x 18 in, art print, classic frame
Picture	24 x 18 in
Outside size	25.6 x 19.6 in
Depth	0.9 in (22 mm)
Weight	[[REAL PROOF NEEDED: shipped weight per size and frame]]
Hanging	[[REAL PROOF NEEDED: hanging hardware Prodigi fits to this frame]]
Material	Enhanced matte art paper, 200 gsm; acrylic glazing
Made in	Charlotte, North Carolina, by Prodigi

Before a size goes on sale, the file is measured against it: pixels per inch at that size, how much of the picture a crop would lose, tone and sharpness. A size that fails is not offered, so there is nothing to choose wrong.

How the print check works

Sizes offered
Size	dpi	Grade	How it fits
12 x 8 in	372	Excellent	Trimmed 7%
14 x 11 in	291	Excellent	Trimmed 8.7%
16 x 12 in	267	Excellent	Trimmed 4.4%
18 x 12 in	248	Excellent	Trimmed 7%
24 x 16 in	186	Good	Trimmed 7%
24 x 18 in	178	Good	Trimmed 4.4%

Sizes withheld
Size	Why
10 x 8 in	Wrong shape: a 10% crop
20 x 16 in	Wrong shape: a 10% crop
30 x 20 in	148 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
30 x 24 in	Wrong shape: a 10% crop
36 x 24 in	124 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
40 x 30 in	106 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
48 x 36 in	89 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
60 x 40 in	74 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged