1874 Tardieu Map of India

This is a beautiful 1874 map of the Indian Subcontinent by Ambroise Tardieu. It covers the entire subcontinent from the Himalayas south as far as Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and from Sindh as far east as Burma. The modern day nations of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Burma and parts of Thailand, Tibet and Afghanistan are included. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Maldives and the Lakshadweep Islands are also identified. The map is highly detailed with both political and physical data with the Himalayas beautifully depicted. Various cities, mountains, roads, rivers and an assortment of additional topographical details are noted.

The map depicts most of what is today modern India and what was, when this map was made, British India. In 1857, following the Sepoy Revolt, the east India Company was dissolved and governance of India was administered directly by the British Crown. The British Raj ruled India until its independence in 1947.

This map was prepared by Ambroise Tardieu and issued as plate 22 in his 1874 edition of Atlas Universel de Geographie Ancienne et Moderne.

Cartographers

Ambroise Tardieu (March 2, 1788 - January 17, 1841) was a prominent French cartographer and engraver operating in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was member of the large and prolific Tardieu family, which, for over 200 years, produced multiple skilled and active engravers. Tardieu's work is known for its beauty and accuracy as well as for its depth of detail. Tardieu's most important work is his version of John Arrowsmith's large format map of the United States, published in 1806. Ambroise Tardieu is eclipsed in fame by his son, artist and medical scholar, August Ambroise Tardieu. Ambroise Tardieu is also frequently confused with Jean Baptiste Pierre Tardieu, another unrelated French map and print engraver active in the early 19th century.   Further Details...

Alexandre Aimé Vuillemin (1812 - 1880) was an engraver, publisher, and editor based in Paris, France in the middle of the 19th century. Despite a prolific publishing career, much of Vuillemin's life is shrouded in mystery. In 1852, he married Josephine Caroline Goret and they had at least one child, Ernestine Adèle Vuillemin, later in the same year. What is known is that his studied under the prominent French Auguste Henri Dufour (1798 - 1865). Vuillemin's most important work his detailed, highly decorative large format Atlas Illustre de Geographie Commerciale et Industrielle.   Further Details...

Source

Furne, Jouvet et Cie Atlas Universel de Geographie Ancienne et Moderne (Paris), 1874.    

Condition

Very good. Minor wear along original centerfold. Original platemark visible. Minor spotting.

References

Rumsey 4697.026 (1863 edition).