British India

Circa 1850s

Later hand-coloured steel engraving on paper

13.25 x 10.5 in (33.7 x 26.5 cm)

Gorgeous full hand coloured example of this decorative map of India engraved by J Rapkin (vignettes by A. H. Wray & G. Greenbach) and published by John Tallis & Co. from London, showing presidencies, military and civil stations and proposed railways. Vignettes show Lahore, Cootub Minar in Dehli, an Indian Procession and Beloochees surrounded by flowered border. From R. Montgomery Martin's Illustrated Atlas, one of the last great decorative atlases of the 19th Century.

John Tallis was an English cartographer and publisher, also one the most popular cartographers of the 19th Century and one of the last great decorative map makers who lived from 1817 until 1876. Tallis was renowned for the very accurate and visually attractive maps and views of all world areas during the Victorian Age. His maps are prized for the wonderful vignettes of indigenous scenes, people, etc.

Despite the fact that he only published one atlas, he is one of the most well-known and respected mapmakers of the nineteenth century. His Illustrated Atlas of the World, produced for the 1851 Great Exhibition, is considered the last really artistic atlas, with maps admired for their ornate borders and fascinating inset vignette views. These maps, drawn and engraved by John Rapkin, were initially collected in The British Colonies (1849), which featured many of the maps that were later included in the Illustrated Atlas. He is especially known for his London street views (1838-1840), which are today extremely rare. A In 1857, he proposed buying The Illustrated London News from Herbert Ingram. After his proposal was denied, he launched The Illustrated News of the World as a competitor. This proved to be a bad investment, since he declared bankruptcy in 1861 and was forced to mortgage his furnishings by 1875. He traded under various names including L Tallis, Tallis and Co, John Tallis & Company, and later the London Printing and Publishing Company which also published many decorative steel engraved views and portraits featuring Tallis’s trademark decorative borders. He was born in 1817 in Stourbridge, Worcestershire, and came to London in 1841. At 233 New Cross Road, a blue plaque marks his final abode.

This work will be shipped unframed

NON-EXPORTABLE