Antique Map of India with Railways Sanctioned by the East India Company, 1858

About this sheet

An original antique map of India, a steel engraving colored by hand, in outline keyed to a table of colors, with railway lines picked out in color and a pale blue coastal wash. The title reads "India". The map covers the subcontinent from Cabool, Afghanistan and Beloochistan in the northwest to Bhotan and the mouths of the Ganges in the east, and south to Ceylon. An inset at lower right, "Continuation of Map on East side of Bay of Bengal", shows "The British Provinces beyond the Ganges, comprising Arracan, Pegu, Tenasserim, Penang, &c.", with its own "Scale of British Miles".

Below the title is the line "Published under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge" and a key: "Droog, Hill Fort. Gurry or Gurh, Hill Fortification. Nuddy, River. Poor, Town." The "Reference to Colors" distinguishes British territory, independent and protected native states, French and Portuguese possessions, the three presidencies and military stations. A "Table of the Area and Population of the British, Native and Foreign-European States in each Presidency" follows. Below it, "Railways, Sanctioned by the East India Company" lists five lines, from the East Indian Railway to the Bombay, Baroda & Central India. Scales in the right margin read "Coss 40 = 1 Degree" and "British Miles 68.8 = 1 Degree". The plate number 20 is engraved in the right margin and the imprint "London, Edward Stanford 6 Charing Cross." runs below the border.

The plate comes from The Harrow Atlas of Modern Geography, published by Edward Stanford in London in 1858 and sold at Harrow by Crossley and Clarke, booksellers to Harrow School. Its maps were selected from the series of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, founded in London in 1826, which issued its maps in parts from 1829 and was wound up in 1848; Stanford later issued them under his own imprint. The sheet shows India still under the East India Company, with the railways it had sanctioned drawn across the map, from Bombay toward Nagpoor and Jubbulpoor.

Condition: Light wear to the top left corner; minor nicks to the left edge. Age toning, darker at the edges; edge soiling and scattered foxing in the margins. A center fold, as issued. Light flecks in the image.

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.