The Caucasus Circassia and Georgia, Antique Map of the Caspian, 1845
US$370
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1845
Mapmaker / artist
Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, London; engraved by John and Charles Walker
Publisher
Charles Knight and Company, 22 Ludgate Street, London
Technique
Steel Engraving
Coloring
Original hand color
Sheet size
35 × 43.5 cm (13.8 × 17.1 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14487-2-65
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Light overall age toning, with light soiling along the edges, a few small brown specks in the lower right margin, and the engraved border running close to the sheet edge.
About this sheet
This antique map of 1845 is the ninth part of the Society's large map of Russia in Europe and covers the whole isthmus between the Black Sea and the Caspian. The Caucasus range runs diagonally across the sheet in dense hachure, with Mount Elbrouz marked near its center, and Circassia lies along its northern flank. Georgia fills the south with Tiflis marked and the Armenian uplands beyond, and Persia and Turkey are lettered at the lower edge. To the north the steppe of the Kalmucks and the government of Astrakhan stretch to the Volga delta, with the lands of the Don Cossacks at the upper left. The Caspian is lettered Kaspiskago More and the Black Sea Tchernago More, each with its classical name beside it, and Tartary and Kharism appear across the Caspian. A key distinguishes the boundary of Europe and Asia, the boundary of the Russian empire and the boundaries of the provinces.
The plate comes from Maps of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, in the new edition corrected to the present time that Charles Knight and Company published at 22 Ludgate Street, London, in 1845, whose first volume covers Europe. The Society was founded in 1826 by Henry Brougham and his circle to publish useful knowledge at a low price. Its maps were issued in parts from 1829, first by Baldwin and Cradock, from 1842 by Chapman and Hall and then by Charles Knight, and the series grew to about two hundred maps. Most of them were engraved on steel by John and Charles Walker, and the outline color was applied by hand.
The plate is signed by J. and C. Walker as engravers. The imprint at the foot names Charles Knight and Company of 22 Ludgate Street, London.
Light overall age toning, with light soiling along the edges, a few small brown specks in the lower right margin, and the engraved border running close to the sheet edge.
This is an original antique map, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
