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1823 Manuscript Map of Greece in Antiquity

Greece-wyld-1823
$250.00
[Greece] Untitled. - Main View
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1823 Manuscript Map of Greece in Antiquity

Greece-wyld-1823

Striking 19th century manuscript school-girl map of Ancient Greece.

Title


[Greece] Untitled.
  1823 (undated)     20 x 15.5 in (50.8 x 39.37 cm)

Description


An unusual and beautiful 1823 manuscript map of Ancient Greece. The map generally follows the historical atlas work of the english cartographer James Wyld however is a fully independent and unique hand rendered production. The manuscript geographical data and detail throughout is altogether outstanding and completed in a fine hand adept at decorative text and the rendering of rivers and mountains.

This map focuses on Greece under the Roman empire, covering from the Ionian Sea to Aegean Sea and from Macedonia to the Mediterranean Sea. The map is color coded and divided according to the political divisions or the Roman empire.

An altogether unique and wonderful one of a kind find.

Cartographer


James Wyld I (1790 - 1836) and his son James Wyld II (November 20, 1812 - 1887) were the principles of an English mapmaking dynasty active in London during much of the 19th century. The elder Wyld was a map publisher under William Faden and did considerable work on the Ordinance Survey. On Faden's retirement, Wyld took over Faden's workshop, acquiring many of his plates. Wyld's work can often be distinguished from his son's maps through his imprint, which he signed as 'Successor to Faden'. Following in his father's footsteps, the younger Wyld joined the Royal Geographical Society in 1830 at the tender age of 18. When his father died in 1836, James Wyld II was prepared to fully take over and expand his father's considerable cartographic enterprise. Like his father and Faden, Wyld II held the title of official Geographer to the Crown, in this case, Queen Victoria. In 1852, he moved operations from William Faden's old office at Charing Cross East (1837 - 1852) to a new, larger space at 475 Strand. Wyld II also chose to remove Faden's name from all of his updated map plates. Wyld II continued to update and republish both his father's work and the work of William Faden well into the late 1880s. One of Wyld's most eccentric and notable achievements is his 1851 construction of a globe 19 meters (60 feet) in diameter in the heart of Leicester Square, London. In the 1840s, Wyld also embarked upon a political career, being elected to parliament in 1847 and again in 1857. He died in 1887 following a prolific and distinguished career. After Wyld II's death, the family business was briefly taken over by James John Cooper Wyld (1844 - 1907), his son, who ran it from 1887 to 1893 before selling the business to Edward Stanford. All three Wylds are notable for producing, in addition to their atlas maps, short-run maps expounding upon important historical events - illustrating history as it was happening - among them are maps related to the California Gold Rush, the New South Wales Gold Rush, the Scramble for Africa, the Oregon Question, and more. More by this mapmaker...

Condition


Very Good. Manuscript map. Original centerfold.