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1852 Meyer Map of Poland and Lithuania after 1772 and 1815

Polen-meyer-1852
$75.00
Die Republik Polen nach ihrem Bestande im Jahre 1772 und das Konigreich Polen seit dem Jahre 1815. - Main View
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1852 Meyer Map of Poland and Lithuania after 1772 and 1815

Polen-meyer-1852


Title


Die Republik Polen nach ihrem Bestande im Jahre 1772 und das Konigreich Polen seit dem Jahre 1815.
  1852 (undated)     8 x 10.5 in (20.32 x 26.67 cm)     1 : 6500000

Description


This is a scarce 1852 map of Poland and Lithuania by Joseph Meyer. It covers in whole or part of the modern day nations of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus, Germany, Czech Republic and Ukraine. An inset in the top left quadrant features the city of Vilnius (Wilna), while the top right quadrant features another inset of Warsaw. Throughout, numerous cities, towns, rivers, mountains and other important topographical features are noted.

The map illustrates the Republic of Poland after the First Partition of 1772 and the Kingdom of Poland since 1815. By the mid-18th century Poland, due to an inefficient and corrupt internal bureaucracy, had lost much of its autonomy to its aggressive and powerful neighbors: Russia, Austria and Prussia. In 1764 Stanislaw August Poniatowski was elevated by election to become King of Poland. This worldly and refined ruler attempted various reforms intended to preserve the failing Polish state, but found himself increasingly subservient to Tsarina Catherina II of Russia. The Bar Confederation of 1768, a rebellion against increasingly Russian influence over Polish politics, led to the First Partition of the Commonwealth, a permanent annexation of Polish territory by its more powerful neighbors. The First Partition occurred in 1772 with Prussia occupying Poland's long coveted western territories, Austria seizing Galicia, and Russia taking part of Livonia.

In the aftermath of the First Partition, the Second Partition was almost inevitable. Poland allied with Prussia to thwart the ambitions of Russia in the east. This, along with a number of other factors lead to the War in Defense of the Constitution between Poland and Russia. Largely abandoned by their Prussian allies, Poland could not hope to stand against the powerful Russian military. Poland's defeat resulted in the loss of nearly 50% of its remaining territory to Russia and Prussia, who signed an accord in 1793. The Third Partition of Poland, in 1795, would dissolve what remained of the reduced Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, ending Polish all autonomy in the 18th century.

In 1795, The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was dismembered and divided between Russia, Prussia, and Austria. During Napoleon's brief period of hegemony in the region he resurrected Poland and Polish hopes for solidarity in the form of the Duchy of Warsaw. Following Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo and the treaties of the 1815 Congress of Vienna, the Victorian powers repartitioned Poland roughly along the lines of the 1785 Third Partition. This event is often referred to as the 'Fourth Partition of Poland' and created the Kingdom of Poland, often called Congress Poland, or the Tsardom of Poland, and was, though nominally independent, in effect a dependency of Imperial Russia.
Color coding identifies the powers that controlled each part of Poland. 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.

Cartographer


Joseph Meyer (May 9, 1796 - June 27, 1856) was a German industrialist, merchant, and publisher, active in Germany in the early to mid 19th century. He is best known for publishing the encyclopedia Meyers Conversation-Lexicon. Born in Gotha, Germany, Meyer was educated as a merchant in Frankfurt am Main. He moved to London in 1816, but returned to Germany in 1820 after his stock speculations and business adventures fell through. Once back in Germany, he began by investing in the textile trade (1820 - 24). Meyer began creating business plans concerning how to start railways soon after the first steam-hauled railway began operation in December 1835. He founded the Deutsche Eisenbahnschienen-Compangie auf Actien (German Railway Rail joint stock company) in 1845. Meyer also found great success as a publisher, utilizing the system of serial subscriptions to publications, a new idea for the time. He founded a company, Bibliographisches Institut in Gotha in 1825, which published several versions of the Bible, works of classical literature, atlases, the world in pictures on steel engravings, and an encyclopedia. He moved the Institut from Gotha to Hildburghausen in 1828. He published several atlases, including Meyer's Groẞer Hand-Atlas (1843 - 1860). In 1848, he supported the Springtime of the Peoples Revolutions that took place throughout Germany and much of Europe. When the revolutions failed in 1849, Meyer was briefly imprisoned for his support of revolutionary activities. The revolutions also began to take a toll on Meyer's business interests, and when he died, in 1856, the Bibliographisches Institut was struggling financially. His son, Herrmann Julius Meyer, took over the firm, spearheading a rapid recovery. This, and other businesses prospered under Herrmann Julius (April 4, 1826 - March 12, 1909) and when he died in 1909, he led the richest family in Saxony, with more total wealth than the King of Saxony More by this mapmaker...

Source


Meyer, J., Meyer's Zeitung Atlas, 1852.     Meyer's Zeitung Atlas, formally titled Neuster Zeitungs-Atlas Fuer Alte und Neue Erdkunde was a popular German hand-atlas published in Heidelberg by Joseph Meyer between, roughly, 1848 and 1859. The atlas is well engraved in the German style with exceptionally dense detail and minimal decoration. Meyer's Atlas, and its constituent maps, are typically very difficult to date as later editions often contain earlier maps and earlier editions later paste-in updates. That said, the atlas' frequent updates and publication run during a turbulent decade provide a noteworthy cartographic record of the period.

Condition


Very good. Minor toning and spotting at places.