1849 Meyer Map of Scandinavia (Sweden, Norway and Denmark)

This is a fine example of Joseph Meyer's 1852 map of Scandinavia, including Norway, Sweden and Denmark. It covers from the Arctic south to Holstein and east as far as Lake Ladoga, the largest lake in Europe. Two insets in the top left quadrant detail Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Throughout, the map identifies various cities, towns, rivers and an assortment of additional topographical details.

Of particular interest is the Lofoten Maelstrom in northwestern Norway. This legendary whirlpool was the inspiration for Edgar Allen Poe's classic tale Descent into the Maelstrom. In reality, it is a periodic and powerful current caused by tidal variations in the region. At this time in history, Scandinavia was in the midst of a prolonged period of peace that led to a cultural and population boom, especially in Sweden. The economy however could not keep up with the increase in population and much of Sweden's population immigrated to the United States between 1850 and 1910.

This map was issued in Meyer's Zeitung Atlas. Although all the maps in this atlas are not individually dated, the title page and maps were often updated while the imprint with the date was not, causing confusion to the exact date for some of the maps. Moreover some maps in the atlas were taped in at a later date as an update to the atlas. We have dated the maps in this collection to the best of our ability.