Rapkin, John (sold)
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.
After the embarrassing British defeat in Afghanistan.
Cabool, the Punjab and Beloochistan.
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This is a rare 1851 John Tallis map of present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan drawn and engraved by John Rapkin for Tallis's Illustrated Atlas and Modern History of the World. A contemporary audience, particularly a British audience, would have viewed this map through the prism of the First Anglo-Afghan War (1839 - 1842), an abject disaster for the British, and the wider context of 'Great Game' imperial competition with Russia. (more details)
Asia in the era of imperial competition.
Asia.
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This is a rare and beautifully illustrated 1851 map of Asia by John Rapkin that appeared in Tallis's Illustrated Atlas and Modern History of the World. It shows Asia on the eve of rapid European imperial expansion, which would soon bring much of the territory shown here under direct or indirect control. (more details)
Britain and Russia squabbling over imperial control in Central Asia.
Independent Tartary.
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This is a highly decorative 1851 map of Central Asia drawn by John Rapkin and published by John Tallis, with hand-drawn colored borders between polities (the Emirate of Bukhara, the Khanate of Khiva, the Khanate of Kokand, and 'Tartaria,' roughly equivalent to today's Kazakhstan, Kunduz, and Badakhshan). (more details)
Traveling from London to India.
Overland Route to India.
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This is a rare 1851 John Rapkin / John Tallis map of the Near East, Middle East, and India, with hand-coloring of the overland routes to India and of national borders. The top portion shows the European section of four routes between London and India, while the bottom half shows the routes continuing through the Near and Middle East. (more details)
The not-so-Chinese Chinese Empire.
Thibet, Mongolia, and Mandchouria.
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This is an 1851 map of Tibet, Mongolia, Manchuria, and neighboring regions belonging to the Qing Empire that appeared in the Tallis's Illustrated Atlas and Modern History of the World. It shows the immensity of territory under Qing rule, or at least Qing suzerainty, and how much of the 'Chinese Empire' was in fact outside of China. (more details)
Features a curious configuration of Texas presaging the 1850 Compromise following the proposals of Senator Henry Clay.
United States.
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This exceptional 1851 John Tallis map of the United States features an incredible configuration of the geography of the western U.S. The map depicts the region from an unusually large Missouri Territory and New Mexico to the Atlantic and from the Canadian border to Mexico. The states in the eastern portion of the country are all illustrated as would be expected. All are labeled, and myriad cities and towns are identified. A handful of railroads are also included, although none are labeled. George Washington and Benjamin Franklin medallions decorate the right and left borders. Several decorative vignettes drawn by J. Marchant and engraved by J. Rogers adorn the work and depict a Native American Buffalo Hunt, William Penn's Treaty with the Indians, and the Washington Monument. (more details)
An attractive 19th century map of the West Indies.
West India Islands.
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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 ... (more details)
One of the most decorative maps of London of the 19th century.
Tallis's Illustrated Plan of London and its Environs in commemoration of the Great Exhibition of Industry of all Nations, 1851.
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A superbly decorative 1851 John Tallis map of London with elaborate pictorial surround, this map was touted on its release as 'the most beautiful and perfect Plan of London ever produced.' With a finely engraved border consisting of forty illustrated views of London 'public buildings and places of amusement', the map lives up to the publisher's boisterous claim. Centered on Charing Cross, coverage extends from Stamford Hill to West Ham and from Brixton to Shepherds Bush. The map was issued to showcase the genius of British cartography, printing, and engraving at the 1851 Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, held in London. (more details)
One of the most decorative maps of London of the 19th century.
Tallis's Illustrated Plan of London and its Environs in commemoration of the Great Exhibition of Industry of all Nations, 1851.
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A superbly decorative 1851 John Tallis map of London with elaborate pictorial surround, this map was touted on its release as 'the most beautiful and perfect Plan of London ever produced'. With a finely engraved border consisting of forty illustrated views of London's 'public buildings and places of amusement', the map lives up to the publisher's boastful claim. (more details)
Victorian London mapped as spectacle.
Tallis's Illustrated Plan of London and its Environs in commemoration of the Great Exhibition of Industry of all Nations, 1851.
$2,500.00
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This is a superbly decorative 1851 John Tallis city plan of London, issued to commemorate the Great Exhibition and arguably Tallis's most ambitious single map. Touted on its release as 'the most beautiful and perfect Plan of London ever produced,' it makes a convincing case for the publisher's boast: John Rapkin's finely engraved plan is surrounded by an elaborate pictorial border of views depicting London's public buildings, monuments, and places of amusement. Both a practical city plan and lavish visual celebration of the Victorian metropolis, it captures London at a defining moment, when the Great Exhibition presented the city to the world as a center of industry, commerce, culture, and modernity. (more details)
Continental Reach of the Hudson's Bay Company.
British America.
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A scarce state of John Tallis and John Rapkin's c. 1851 map of British America or Canada. Among other features, it depicts the vast territory overseen by the Hudson's Bay Company. (more details)
Disapproval for American Expansionism after the Mexican American War.
North America.
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This is John Tallis's c. 1851 map of North America, drawn and engraved by John Rapkin. It is most notable for including an ephemeral depiction of the borders of North America in the wake of the Mexican-American War (1846 - 1848), though not entirely reflecting the changes brought about by the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, perhaps a veiled criticism of the new territorial acquisitions of the United States. (more details)