1851 Tallis and Rapkin Map of the West Indies

An attractive 19th century map of the West Indies.

This is an 1851 John Tallis map of the Caribbean or West Indies. The map depicts the region from Cuba and the Caribbean coast of Central America to Barbados and from southern Florida to Colombia and the mouth of the Orinoco River. Each of the islands of the Greater and Lesser Antilles are labeled, including Cuba, Santo Domingo (Hispaniola / Hayti), Puerto Rico (Porto Rico), the Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and St. Lucia. The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands are also illustrated and stretch from Florida to Santo Domingo. Highly detailed, myriad locations throughout the region are labeled, particularly along the coastlines of Cuba, Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica. Small islands along the coast of Central America are also identified. A view of Kingston, Jamaica, is situated in the upper-right corner, along with a vignette of two Islanders. A vignette included in the Caribbean Sea depicts numerous large sailing ships with three masts, possibly ships-of-the-line, sailing toward an island.

This map was engraved by John Rapkin and published by John Tallis in 1851 as part of series of maps created for his Illustrated Atlas.

Cartographers

John Tallis (November 7, 1817 - June 3, 1876) was an English map publisher and bookseller. Born in Stourbridge, Worcestershire, he worked in his father's Birmingham agency from 1836 to 1842. Around 1838, Tallis published a collection of London Street Views and entered into a partnership with his brother Frederick Tallis from 1842 to 1849. Tallis and Company also published the Illustrated Atlas of the World (1849). Also in 1849, Tallis traveled to New York City, where he established agencies in 6 American cities. After returning from New York, Tallis paid his brother £10,000 for his share of the business and subsequently operated as John Tallis and Company until 1854. By 1853, John Tallis and Company had agencies in 26 cities in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada and employed over 500 people. On February 24, 1854, Tallis brought on a new partner, Ephraim Tipton Brain (1791 - 1876), forming the London Printing and Publishing Company. After a series of setbacks, however, Tallis had to sell his estate and by 1861 was declared bankrupt. Friends and former employees kept him afloat, but none of his 'various ambitious projects' proved lucrative. Tallis married Jane Ball on December 6, 1836, in Birmingham, and they lived together until she died in 1862. Tallis remarried on June 27, 1863, to Mary Stephens, with whom he had two children.   Further Details...

John Rapkin (July 18, 1813 - June 20, 1899) was an English mapmaker and engraver. Born in Southwark, Rapkin was the son of George Rapkin, a shoemaker, and his wife Elizabeth Harfy. Rapkin and his brother Richard both became engravers and his other brother, William Harfy Rapkin, became a copperplate printer. Rapkin produced works for James Wyld and John Tallis, including The United States and the relative position of Oregon and Texas for Wyld around 1845, and a series of eighty maps for Tallis that became 'Tallis's illustrated atlas, and modern history of the world' in 1851. Rapkin married Frances Wilmot Rudell on January 4, 1837, with whom he had at least eight children, some of whom became engravers, including his sons John Benjamin Rapkin (1837 - 1914), Alfred Thomas Rapkin (1841 - 1905), Joseph Clarke Rapkin (1846? - 1912), and Frederick William Rapkin (1859 - 1945). Rapkin operated under the imprint 'John Rapkin and Sons from 1867 until 1883, and was operating as 'John Rapkin and Sons' by 1887. Rapkin died in 1899 at the age of 85 soon after the death of his wife of over sixty years.   Further Details...

Condition

Very good. Even overall toning. Wear along original centerfold. Verso repair to centerfold separation. Publishers imprint partially cut off along bottom border. Blank on verso.

References

OCLC 431525261.