Arabia (sold)

A rare large-format 1871 Ottoman wall map of Arabia by military officer Yusbasi Husni (Hüsnü) Efendi. This is the earliest known large-scale Islamic wall map of Arabia. It was produced amid major administrative changes and cartographic developments, when the Ottoman Empire was securing its tenuous control of Mecca, Medina, and Yemen against both internal and external pressure. (more details)

A foundational work of Renaissance cartography: this is the first acquirable printed map of the Arabian Peninsula. Appearing in the Rome edition of Ptolemy, in its 1478 printing, it is preceded only by the unacquirable 1477 Bologna Ptolemy. Ptolemy's 2nd-century innovation of representing the three-dimensional world on a grided mathematical projection provided the basis of all modern cartography. Of all the early printed versions of Ptolemy's maps, those produced for the Rome edition are considered the finest until Mercator's 1578 edition. The present example is embellished with attractive old hand color. (more details)

This is a large-format c. 1971 Arabic-language map of Abu Dhabi and environs prepared by Mohamed Morsi Abdullah. It constitutes the earliest official map of Abu Dhabi as an independent, post-colonial entity and as the capital of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.). (more details)

This is the Waldseemüller / Ringmann 1513 map of Arabia, considered one of the earliest acquirable maps of the Arabian Peninsula and essential to any serious Arabia collection. It was issued for Waldseemüller and Ringmann's 1513 Geographie Opus Novissima, then the most thoroughly edited and amended edition of Ptolemy. Moreover, this map was the most detailed map of the Arabian Peninsula to have been produced to date, illustrating and naming many of the islands of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, and including comprehensive interior detail. Despite presenting ancient geography, the detail of Ptolemaic maps of the region had yet to be improved upon significantly, and so this map remained one of the most detailed maps of the Arabian Peninsula available, illustrating and naming many of the islands of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, and including comprehensive interior detail. (more details)

This is a rare c. 1972 wall map of the Persian / Arabian Gulf region by Ibrahim Hilmi al-Ghouri. Published by the Scientific Foundation for Educational Aids, it was likely intended for classroom use in the United Arab Emirates. (more details)

This is a remarkable, very large-format 1970 bilingual three-sheet geological map of Qatar, prepared by an international team of geologists and published by Ali Mohammed Jaidah. It represents the first comprehensive geological survey of the country and therefore played an important role in the subsequent development of Qatar's oil and gas industry. (more details)

This is a rare 1968 folding map of Abu Dhabi, appearing in the scarce Arabic edition of the Two Glorious Years in the History of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The map and book were published in a period of rapid transformation for the emirate, which was preparing for independence and implementing the early phase of a radical modern urban plan. (more details)

This is a stunning, large-format 1970 bilingual geological map of Qatar, prepared by an international team of geologists and published by Ali Mohammed Jaidah. It represents the first comprehensive geological survey of the country and therefore played an important role in the subsequent development of Qatar's oil and gas industry. (more details)

A striking, important, and rare Arabic-language chromolithographed map of the Nile Delta, prepared in 1872 by Mahmoud Bey al-Falaky. Aside from its aesthetic qualities, it also represented the most accurate map of the region when it was produced, combining the most up-to-date cartographic methods with extensive research on local placenames, terrain, and topography. As this map replaced French benchmark maps of the region from the early 19th century, it became the new gold standard and was continually used as the basis for most subsequent maps. (more details)

A remarkable find, this scarce, large-format Arabic-language map of the holy city of Mecca was prepared in 1948 by the Survey of Egypt. This map reflects an effort by the House of Saud to mark their rule over the Hejaz and the holy sites therein by making Mecca more accessible to Muslims. (more details)

A remarkable find; this scarce, large-format Arabic-language map of the holy city of Mecca was prepared in 1948 by the Survey of Egypt. This map reflects an effort by the House of Saud to mark their rule over the Hejaz and the holy sites therein by making Mecca more accessible to Muslim pilgrims. (more details)

This is a stunning c. 1955 B. Lindblad pictorial map of Africa. The map depicts the region from the Atlantic Ocean to the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean and from Spain, Sicily, and Greece to the Cape of Good Hope. Beautifully illustrated, the incredible biodiversity of this vast continent is on full display. The relative prosperity of French Colonial Africa along the Mediterranean is highlighted by green hills, mountains, and buildings meant to denote cities. The ruins of Carthage are illustrated in Tunisia, as are the Pyramids at Giza in Egypt. The artist emphasized the life-giving power of the Nile River by making the river valley a blue and green channel through the brown wasteland of the Sahara. The nomadic lifestyle of the people living in the Sahara is shown, complete with camels and horses.

Sub-Saharan Africa is verdantly colored, with West Africa featuring a native village and locals fashioning ivory into trinkets. The wildlife of the region is, of course, the map's focus. Elephants, gazelles, gorillas, leopards, hippos, lions, and giraffes are only a few of the species illustrated. The duality of native existence up against modern technology and the constant drive to exploit Africa's seemingly infinite natural resources also take center stage, with a large tractor and a diamond mine drawn next to local villages and livestock.

The Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula are also illustrated in the upper right corner, complete with an illustration of the Great Mosque of Mecca in profile. Oil derricks are depicted along the Persian Gulf, along with a tanker plying the Gulf's waters to take the 'black gold' to market. (more details)

This is a scarce copperplate edition, commonly dated 1563, of the first accurate map of South Asia, including India, Arabia, and the Persian Gulf. It was drawn for Giovanni Battista Ramusio by his friend, the great cartographer Giacomo Gastaldi. The map was first published in Volume I of Ramusio's delle Navigationi et Viaggi in 1554, but this copperplate edition was engraved by Niccolo Nelli to replace the original woodblock after it was lost in a fire. (more details)

This is a gigantic 1874 James Imray and Son blueback working nautical chart or maritime map of the Indian Ocean covered in manuscript notations. The map depicts the world from East Africa to Fiji and from Taiwan and the Persian Gulf to 60 degrees south latitude. Manuscript pencil notations trace at least three, possibly four, voyages across the Indian Ocean. These notations mark the vessel's location on its trip across the ocean and notes what is most likely the day of the expedition. Apart from these four voyages, numerous routes between various points throughout the region are also illustrated, with a particular concentration running from the Gulf of Aden to the East Indies, frequented trade routes between England and the Netherlands and these colonies rich in natural resources. Myriad locations are identified throughout, particularly along the coastlines and small islands making up parts of archipelagos situated throughout the Pacific Ocean and the China Sea. Eight inset maps are situated on the map's left side and illustrate Cargados Carajos, Coetivy, Rodrigues, Wood Island, Farquhar Passage, Tromelin, Réunion, and the cities of Saint Paul and Saint Denis on Réunion. (more details)

This is a 1957 map of the Trucial States, the future United Arab Emirates, that appeared in the book The Seven Emirates on the Green Coast, written by Ahmad Qasim Al-Burini. Al-Burini's account is one of the most detailed historical accounts of the emirates in this formative period. (more details)

This is a c. 1799 set of three nautical maps or charts covering the Red Sea, produced by the French Dépôt Général de la Marine. At the time, the Red Sea had become a key strategic waterway due to Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and the wider geopolitical struggles of the French Revolutionary Wars, prompting significant remapping. (more details)

This is an 1841 Carl Ferdinand Weiland map of Arabia - considered one of the earliest modern scientific mappings of the Arabian Peninsula and one of the earliest maps to name Kuwait (El Koueit ox Grane), Dubai (Dubai), and Abu Dhabi (Abuthubbi). (more details)

This is Laurent Fries' edition of the earliest acquirable modern mapping of South Asia. While the topography and place names are faithfully drawn from Martin Waldseemüller's map of 1513, Fries' map also includes evocative woodcut illustrations and descriptive text drawn not from the 1513 Ptolemy, but instead from Waldseemüller's 1516 Carta Marina. Consequently, the geography shown here was thoroughly modern. (more details)

A monumental and highly detailed 1751 map of India, Persia, and Arabia by the French cartographer Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville. Centered on Persia, this map covers from Istanbul to eastern India and Tibet, and from the Black Sea to the Maldives. It offers ... (more details)

A monumental and highly detailed 1751 map of India, Persia, and Arabia by the French cartographer Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville. Centered on Persia, this map covers from Istanbul to eastern India and Tibet, and from the Black Sea to the Maldives. It offers ... (more details)

A monumental and highly detailed 1751 map of India, Persia, and Arabia by the French cartographer Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville. Centered on Persia, this map covers from Istanbul to eastern India and Tibet, and from the Black Sea to the Maldives. It offers ... (more details)

This is Gerard Mercator's map of the Arabian Peninsula, based on the second-century mapping of Claudius Ptolemy (c. 100 - 170), the progenitor of modern geography. Mercator executed this map for his 1578 Duisberg edition of Ptolemy's Geographia, intended to be the definitive edition of that foundational work. (more details)

This is an attractive example of Nicolas Sanson's scarce 1654 map of the Arabian Peninsula. As indicated in the title, it depicts the three Arabias: Arabie Petree, Arabie Deserte, and Arabia Heureuse; that is, Stony Arabia, Desert Arabia, and 'Happy' Arabia. The map depicts both shores of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, and the Indian Ocean island of Zocotora off the horn of Africa. The map includes Mecca and Medina, and the pattern of named settlements describes the Hajj routes: along the Red Sea coast, the overland routes across the peninsula from Basra, and the route to Mecca from Damascus. The Kingdom of Bahrain (Bahraim) appears as well. The largest portion of the Arabian Peninsula is here named Hyaman, ou Arabie Heureuse: 'Yemen, or Happy Arabia.' (more details)

An extremely rare 1869 James Wyld map of the Suez Canal issued shortly before the Canal was opened. The canal was officially opened on November 17, 1869, and Wyld copyrighted this map on November 12, 1869, just in time to capitalize and general enthusiasm over canal's completion. The map covers the full extent of the Canal form the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. There are inset charts of Ismailia, Suez Bay, and Port Said. A further inset in the upper left, illustrates the canal within the context of the British Empire, whose possessions are highlighted in red. A profile section of the canal appears along the bottom border. (more details)

A groundbreaking 1814 map of Mecca by Ali Bey el Abbassi. This was the first accurate city map of Mecca produced by a non-Muslim European - Ali Bey el Abbassi, a Spanish-born Arabist who spent years traveling throughout Arabia and North Africa. It displays the holy city as it appeared in the early 19th century. (more details)

This is a 1965 Tactical Commanders' Terrain Analysis (TacCTA) map of Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, prepared by the Army Map Service for the Defense Intelligence Agency. The area is home to a large Saudi Aramco oil refinery and port, the main avenue for Saudi Arabia's oil exports, and the map would have been vital for any military operation that might take place there. (more details)

This is a 1977 tourist map of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates printed by Alsace Print and Production for the local firm Consent-Consolidated Enterprises. It coincides with a transformational period in the Emirate's history, when it was in the midst of a breakneck modernization scheme that built the city known today. (more details)

A striking 1786 separate-issue F. A. Schrämbl map of India, Persia, and Arabia. It is based upon the best cartographic sources of the era and was engraved for one of the first Austrian world atlases, Schrämbl's Allgemeiner Grosser Atlas. The present example is a separate issue likely predating the 1800 publication of the atlas. (more details)

A curious and uncommon four panel wall map 1786 map of India, Persia, and Arabia by the english publisher M. Postlethwayte. Published in four separate panels, this map can be either joined as a single massive map as assembled, as above, in separate panels. As a ... (more details)

This is a scarce and unusual 1877 Augustus Petermann map of the Middle East and Central Asia at the height of The Great Game, a decades-long diplomatic duel between the British and Russian Empires. Detailing the entire theater of war, the map's polyconic projection covers from the Balkans to British India; Crimea to the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. The Russian Empire stretches across the top of the map, an ever-expanding threat to countries to the south with deep water ports on the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean. Throughout the 19th century, the Russian drive southward led to several wars with Persia and Turkey, which also embroiled British and French interests, staging Russia as 'the great enemy'. (more details)

A monumental and highly detailed 1786 map of India, Persia, and Arabia by the Austrian cartographer F. A. Scharembl. Centered on Persia, this map covers from Istanbul to eastern India and Tibet, and from the Black Sea to the Maldives. Schraembl derived this ... (more details)

A scarce first edition first state example of Guillaume De L'Isle's 1701 map of Arabia, Turkey, and Persia. This is a foundational map and may be considered the first modern map of the Arabian Peninsula, in which the vagaries of the Ptolemaic era were at ... (more details)