1885 Roberto Arménio Military Maps of Uruguay and Rio Grande do Sul

Rare reference maps for the use of the military.

This is a rare, folding chromolithograph containing five maps focusing on Uruguay's frontiers with Brazil, specifically Rio Grande do Sul, produced in 1885 by military engineer Roberto Arménio for the use of officers of the Uruguayan Army and Navy. It accompanied Arménio's pamphlet, Mapa Militar de la República Oriental del Uruguay, which outlined plans to reform and modernize Uruguay's military.

A Closer Look

The folding sheet contains 5 of the 7 maps that accompanied Arménio's work.

1. Upper Left: Map of the Republic of Uruguay and its neighbors, showing Uruguay's borders in 1777, 1812, and 1821. It highlights the territories disputed with both Brazil and Argentina.
2. Upper Right: Map of the Brazilian Province of Rio Grande do Sul, providing regional context to Uruguay’s northern neighbor.
3. Lower Left: Detailed map of the Laguna Merín region, which lies on Uruguay’s Atlantic coast along the Brazilian border.
4. Lower Right: Another map of Rio Grande do Sul, this time focusing on three 'Colonias militares' along the upper Uruguay River — Brazilian military settlements aimed at asserting control over the frontier and projecting power into Argentina's Misiones region.
5. Bottom Center: Strategically oriented (east-facing) map showing key railroad and royal road routes connecting the inland town of Bagé with the coastal city of Rio Grande, vital for military and economic movement.

Roberto Arménio and Uruguayan Military Reforms

This map, and the publication it accompanied, were the work of Roberto Arménio, an Italian military engineer who, beginning in 1882, served in Uruguay's newly developed Military Engineering Office. He became a technical advisor to President Máximo Santos and was instrumental in Santos' program of military reform. This was not an isolated phenomenon. Europe was already in the throes of modernization after the sharp lessons of the Franco-Prussian War (which Arménio had witnessed), and the European influence was felt in Uruguay. The militaries of the former Spanish Empire were dominated by militias governed by Spanish colonial regulations. But with the advent of railways, the telegraph, and advances in armaments, modern warfare became sufficiently specialized that these advances required a professional military with formal training. In addition, such training differentiated the state's professional army from militias belonging to opposition parties in the interior. Thus, military reforms strengthened the Uruguayan state against foreign and domestic threats. Arménio was instrumental in promulgating Uruguay's new (first) military code. He was also part of the project of setting up military institutes and academies, as well as quasi-civil institutions such as the Escuela Nacional de Artes y Oficios. The students of this school, administered directly by the Ministry of War, were detainees of the police or military; these compulsory students were taught to read and were educated in a trade during their detention. Printing was prominent among these trades. The school published an array of works, including official government statistical publications and several maps. While the Escuela is named neither on this map nor in examples of the pamphlet it accompanied, the style and execution of the lettering on this map is very consistent with other maps published by the Escuela at the same time.

Chromolithography

Chromolithography, sometimes called oleography, is a color lithographic technique developed in the mid-19th century. The process involved using multiple lithographic stones, one for each color, to yield a rich composite effect. Oftentimes, the process would start with a black basecoat upon which subsequent colors were layered. Some chromolithographs used 30 or more separate lithographic stones to achieve the desired product. Chromolithograph color could also be effectively blended for even more dramatic results. The process became extremely popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when it emerged as the dominant method of color printing. The vivid color chromolithography produced made it exceptionally effective for advertising and propaganda imagery.

Publication History and Census

This map was printed in 1885 and was included in  Roberto Arménio's Mapa Militar de la República O. del Uruguay, 1885. While the accompanying text appears in several institutional collections, we see the set of maps only in the Biblioteca Nacional de Uruguay. We are aware of only a few examples ever to have come to auction; it appears to be extremely rare.

Cartographers

Roberto Arménio (1836 - December 25, 1900) was Neapolitan civil and military engineer. Born to Neapolitan nobility, he entered the cadet school of the Bourbon Army, graduating as an officer. He studied military engineering and joined the army's engineer corps. He was an aide to Garibaldi during the Italian wars of Unification and served with him during the Franco-Prussian War. He continued an engineering career, both for the military of Brazil and also in the civil realm in Lisbon, where he pioneered the famous Santa Justa Lift. From 1882 to 1888, he resettled in Uruguay, serving in the newly developed Military Engineering Office for the Uruguayan Army and becoming a technical advisor to President Máximo Santos. Among his other projects, he reorganized the Escuela Nacional de Artes y Oficios, and instituted an array of military reforms. Under his direction, a number of important maps and plans were created, focusing especially on hydrographic and military maps of Uruguay's frontiers, maps of Uruguay's railways, and maps of the country's rivers. He also proposed - but never executed - a canalization of the Rio Negro. In the 1890s, he continued to advise the Uruguayan chief of staff, but was not paid for these efforts. His labors were not profitable, and he died in poverty in his adopted country.   Further Details...

La Escuela de Artes Y Oficios (1878 - 1887) was a school developed in Montevideo, Uruguay, as part of that country's modernization process, both as an instrument of education and of social control. It was founded on December 31, 1878, during the presidency of Lorenzo Latorre. At that time it was located within a military compound and was administered directly by the Ministry of War: its students were young people detained by the police or the army. These were taught to read, and instructed in a trade during their detention. Printing - both letterpress and lithography - appear to have numbered among these trades: the school published an array of works during its existence, ranging from books of poetry to official statistical government publications. They published at least one map: Mapa de la republica oriental del Uruguay, whose cartographer is not credited. Its publication through a military office would classify it as an official document. The Escuela remained an office of the military until 1887, at which point it was passed to the Ministry of Justice, Worship and Public Instruction, and its name changed to Escuela Nacional de Artes y Oficios, under the administration of Roberto Arménio. The institution survived several changes of name, and is known now as Univesidad del Trabajo del Uruguay.   Further Details...

Source

Arménio, Roberto, Mapa Militar de la República O. del Uruguay, (Montevideo: La Escuela de Artes Y Oficios) 1885.    

Condition

Very good. Color lithograph with original hand tinting, Folds and some creasing visible, mended tear at insertion point, else excellent.