Getting Started with ggCheysson

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Michael Friendly

2026-11-07

Introduction

The ggCheysson package brings the distinctive visual style of Émile Cheysson’s Albums de Statistique Graphique (1879-1897) to modern R graphics. This vignette demonstrates how to use the package’s main features:

Color palettes: 25 authentic palettes from the original Albums
Hatching patterns: Historical fill patterns for ggpattern
Fonts: Five hand-drawn font families
Themes: Period-appropriate ggplot2 themes

library(ggCheysson)
library(ggplot2)

Loading Fonts

For vignettes and documents, we recommend using the showtext method:

# Load Cheysson fonts
load_cheysson_fonts(method = "showtext")
showtext::showtext_auto()

Color Palettes

The package includes 25 color palettes organized into four types:

# View all available palettes
head(list_cheysson_pals(), 10)
#>       name       type album plate n_colors
#> 1  1880_07    grouped  1880     7        5
#> 2  1880_21   category  1880    21        7
#> 3  1881_12 sequential  1881    12        1
#> 4  1881_14    grouped  1881    14        2
#> 5  1881_22   category  1881    22        4
#> 6  1881_30    grouped  1881    30        5
#> 7  1882_18    grouped  1882    18        2
#> 8  1883_21  diverging  1883    21        3
#> 9  1883_30   category  1883    30        4
#> 10 1883_31  diverging  1883    31        2

# View palettes by type
list_cheysson_pals("sequential")
#>      name       type album plate n_colors
#> 1 1881_12 sequential  1881    12        1
#> 2 1886_26 sequential  1886    26        2
#> 3 1888_27 sequential  1888    27        1
#> 4 1891_19 sequential  1891    19        1
#> 5 1891_25 sequential  1891    25        2
#> 6 1895_16 sequential  1895    16        3
#> 7 1900_28 sequential  1900    28        2
list_cheysson_pals("category")
#>      name     type album plate n_colors
#> 1 1880_21 category  1880    21        7
#> 2 1881_22 category  1881    22        4
#> 3 1883_30 category  1883    30        4
#> 4 1886_28 category  1886    28        3
#> 5 1906_06 category  1906     6        6
#> 6 1906_50 category  1906    50        4

Scatterplot with Sequential Palette

# Create data with continuous variable
data(iris)

p1 <- ggplot(iris, aes(Sepal.Length, Sepal.Width, color = Petal.Length)) +
  geom_point(size = 3, alpha = 0.8) +
  scale_color_cheysson("1880_21", discrete = FALSE) +
  labs(
    title = "Iris Measurements",
    subtitle = "Using Sequential Palette 1880, Plate 21",
    x = "Sepal Length (cm)",
    y = "Sepal Width (cm)",
    color = "Petal\nLength"
  ) +
  theme_cheysson()

print(p1)

Scatterplot with Categorical Palette

p2 <- ggplot(iris, aes(Sepal.Length, Sepal.Width, color = Species)) +
  geom_point(size = 3, alpha = 0.8) +
  scale_color_cheysson("1881_22") +
  labs(
    title = "Iris Species Comparison",
    subtitle = "Using Categorical Palette 1881, Plate 22",
    x = "Sepal Length (cm)",
    y = "Sepal Width (cm)"
  ) +
  theme_cheysson()

print(p2)

Bar Charts with Patterns

The package integrates with ggpattern to recreate Cheysson’s distinctive hatching patterns.

# Simple bar chart with colors only
data(mtcars)
cyl_summary <- aggregate(mpg ~ cyl, data = mtcars, FUN = mean)
cyl_summary$cyl <- factor(cyl_summary$cyl)

p3 <- ggplot(cyl_summary, aes(cyl, mpg, fill = cyl)) +
  geom_col(color = "black", linewidth = 0.8) +
  scale_fill_cheysson("1883_31") +
  labs(
    title = "Automobile Efficiency by Cylinder Count",
    subtitle = "Average Miles per Gallon",
    x = "Number of Cylinders",
    y = "Miles per Gallon"
  ) +
  theme_cheysson() +
  theme(legend.position = "none")

print(p3)

Cheysson’s palettes combine colors with hatching: each element has a fill or paper color, a hatch type (solid, stripe or crosshatch), line colors and an angle. With ggpattern, scale_cheysson() applies a whole palette in one step: map the variable to the pattern aesthetic, and the scale gives each level one of Cheysson’s swatches, with all of its properties:

# Bar chart with patterns
if (requireNamespace("ggpattern", quietly = TRUE)) {
  library(ggpattern)

  trade_data <- data.frame(
    country = c("France", "England", "Germany", "Italy"),
    exports = c(2350, 3120, 2680, 1890)
  )

  p4 <- ggplot(trade_data, aes(reorder(country, exports), exports, pattern = country)) +
    geom_col_pattern(color = "black", linewidth = 0.8) +
    scale_cheysson("1886_28") +
    labs(
      title = "Export Statistics by Nation",
      subtitle = "Annual Trade Volume (1885)",
      x = NULL,
      y = "Exports (thousands of francs)"
    ) +
    theme_cheysson() +
    theme(legend.position = "none")

  print(p4)
}

See vignette("combining-colors-patterns", package = "ggCheysson") for more: legends, ordered palettes, missing values, line spacing, and the individual pattern scales, which give control over each property separately.

Line Graphs: Time Series

# Create time series data
years <- 1880:1900
railway_data <- data.frame(
  year = rep(years, 3),
  type = rep(c("Passengers", "Freight", "Mail"), each = length(years)),
  volume = c(
    seq(100, 250, length.out = 21) + rnorm(21, 0, 10),
    seq(80, 200, length.out = 21) + rnorm(21, 0, 8),
    seq(30, 90, length.out = 21) + rnorm(21, 0, 5)
  )
)

p5 <- ggplot(railway_data, aes(year, volume, color = type)) +
  geom_line(linewidth = 1.5) +
  geom_point(size = 2.5) +
  scale_color_cheysson("1883_31") +
  labs(
    title = "Railway Traffic Development",
    subtitle = "Transportation Volume Index (1880-1900)",
    x = "Year",
    y = "Volume Index",
    color = "Transport Type"
  ) +
  theme_cheysson_minimal() +
  theme(
    legend.position = c(0.15, 0.85),
    legend.background = element_rect(fill = "white", color = "black")
  )

print(p5)

Stacked Area Chart

# Stacked area for composition over time
industry_data <- data.frame(
  year = rep(1880:1895, 4),
  sector = rep(c("Manufacturing", "Mining", "Agriculture", "Services"), each = 16),
  value = c(
    seq(100, 180, length.out = 16),
    seq(80, 140, length.out = 16),
    seq(200, 180, length.out = 16),
    seq(60, 120, length.out = 16)
  )
)

p6 <- ggplot(industry_data, aes(year, value, fill = sector)) +
  geom_area(alpha = 0.85, color = "black", linewidth = 0.4) +
  scale_fill_cheysson("1881_22") +
  labs(
    title = "Industrial Production by Sector",
    subtitle = "Economic Output Distribution (1880-1895)",
    x = "Year",
    y = "Production Value",
    fill = "Economic Sector"
  ) +
  theme_cheysson() +
  theme(legend.position = "bottom")

print(p6)

Faceted Plots: Small Multiples

# Regional comparison using facets
set.seed(42)
regional_data <- data.frame(
  region = rep(c("Paris", "Lyon", "Marseille", "Bordeaux"), each = 20),
  year = rep(1880:1899, 4),
  population = c(
    seq(2200, 2900, length.out = 20) + rnorm(20, 0, 50),
    seq(400, 550, length.out = 20) + rnorm(20, 0, 20),
    seq(350, 490, length.out = 20) + rnorm(20, 0, 25),
    seq(250, 380, length.out = 20) + rnorm(20, 0, 15)
  )
)

p7 <- ggplot(regional_data, aes(year, population)) +
  geom_area(fill = "#d18781", alpha = 0.6) +
  geom_line(color = "#7c9a77", linewidth = 1.2) +
  facet_wrap(~region, ncol = 2, scales = "free_y") +
  labs(
    title = "Urban Population Growth",
    subtitle = "Major French Cities (1880-1899)",
    x = "Year",
    y = "Population (thousands)"
  ) +
  theme_cheysson() +
  theme(
    strip.background = element_rect(fill = "#edd493", color = "black"),
    strip.text = element_text(size = 11, face = "bold")
  )

print(p7)

Grouped Bar Chart with Patterns

if (requireNamespace("ggpattern", quietly = TRUE)) {
  # Infrastructure comparison
  infrastructure <- data.frame(
    region = rep(c("North", "South", "East", "West"), each = 3),
    # a factor, so the levels take the sequential palette from light to dense
    type = factor(rep(c("Rail", "Canal", "Road"), 4), levels = c("Road", "Canal", "Rail")),
    length = c(
      450, 300, 250,  # North
      350, 400, 250,  # South
      500, 200, 300,  # East
      400, 350, 250   # West
    )
  )

  p8 <- ggplot(infrastructure, aes(region, length, pattern = type)) +
    geom_col_pattern(position = "dodge", color = "black", linewidth = 0.5) +
    scale_cheysson("1881_12", name = "Type") +
    labs(
      title = "Transportation Network Comparison",
      subtitle = "Infrastructure Development by Region (1890)",
      x = "Region",
      y = "Network Extent (hundreds of km)"
    ) +
    theme_cheysson() +
    theme(legend.position = "right")

  print(p8)
}

Map-Style Visualization

# Simulated geographic data (dept-level statistics)
set.seed(123)
departments <- data.frame(
  dept = paste0("Dept_", 1:12),
  x = c(1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4),
  y = c(3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1),
  value = c(45, 67, 52, 38, 71, 55, 43, 62, 49, 58, 66, 41)
)

p9 <- ggplot(departments, aes(x, y, fill = value)) +
  geom_tile(color = "black", linewidth = 1.2) +
  geom_text(aes(label = dept), size = 3.5, fontface = "bold") +
  scale_fill_cheysson("1880_21", discrete = FALSE) +
  coord_equal() +
  labs(
    title = "Regional Statistics Map",
    subtitle = "Value Distribution by Department",
    fill = "Value\nIndex"
  ) +
  theme_cheysson_map()

print(p9)

Exploring Different Palette Types

Diverging Palette

# Show temperature anomalies with diverging palette
temp_data <- data.frame(
  year = 1880:1897,
  anomaly = c(-0.3, 0.1, -0.2, 0.4, -0.1, 0.3, 0.2, -0.4, 0.5,
              0.1, 0.3, -0.2, 0.4, 0.2, -0.3, 0.5, 0.3, 0.6)
)

# Diverging palette 1883_21: one extreme, neutral middle, other extreme
div_pal <- cheysson_pal("1883_21")

p10 <- ggplot(temp_data, aes(year, 1, fill = anomaly)) +
  geom_tile(height = 0.5) +
  scale_fill_gradient2(
    low = div_pal[1],
    mid = div_pal[2],
    high = div_pal[3],
    midpoint = 0
  ) +
  labs(
    title = "Temperature Anomalies (1880-1897)",
    subtitle = "Using Diverging Palette",
    x = "Year",
    y = "",
    fill = "Anomaly (C)"
  ) +
  theme_cheysson() +
  theme(
    axis.text.y = element_blank(),
    axis.ticks.y = element_blank()
  )

print(p10)

Summary

The ggCheysson package provides:

25 color palettes in 4 types (sequential, diverging, grouped, category)
134 pattern specifications for ggpattern integration
5 font families for authentic period styling
3 complete themes for different visualization needs

Key Functions

scale_color_cheysson() / scale_fill_cheysson() - Apply color palettes
scale_cheysson() - Apply a color-and-pattern palette with ggpattern, in one step
scale_pattern_*_cheysson() - Apply single pattern properties (hatch type, line color, angle, …)
theme_cheysson() - Complete Cheysson theme
load_cheysson_fonts() - Load font families

Available Palettes

# Count by type
table(sapply(cheysson_palettes, function(x) x$type))
#> 
#>   category  diverging    grouped sequential 
#>          6          2         10          7

For more details, see the package documentation and visit David Rumsey’s Albums de Statistique Graphique collection.

These binaries (installable software) and packages are in development.
They may not be fully stable and should be used with caution. We make no claims about them.
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