1930 Gleneagles Promotional Map of Central Scotland

A stunning large format 1930 case map of southern Scotland issued to jointly promote the luxurious Gleneagles Hotel and the London Midland and Scottish Railway Company. Centered on the Gleneagles Hotel, the map covers some 5000 square miles of highlands and lowlands from Balmoral Castle in the north to Selkirk in the south and from the Firth of Lorne to North Sea. Historical sites are drawn in profile. Topography is rendered clearly using hachures. Major and minor roads are represented. The whole is embraced in a marvelous highly decorative engraved oval border with medallions in each corner representing the Gleneagles Hotel and the London Midland and Scottish Railway Company.

A curious notes references the 'Probable Route Take by Dave Balfour in R.L. Stevenson's Kidnapped. This refers to Robert Louis Stevenson's popular novel, Kidnapped. A historical adventure novel, Kidnapped was based upon real events and was enormously popular in Scotland for its sympathetic perspective on Scottish Highlanders. Kidnapped. Kidnapped focuses on a series of 18th-century Scottish events, notably the 'Appin Murder,' which occurred near Ballachulish in 1752 in the aftermath of the Jacobite Rising of 1745. Many of the characters were real people, including one of the principals, Alan Breck Stewart.

This map was drawn and engraved by McCorquodale and Company of Glasgow and published by W. and A. K. Johnston and Company of Edinburgh. The Gleneagles Hotel, a lavish luxury resort between Perth and Edinburgh, still operates today. The London Midland and Scottish Railway Company was nationalized in 1948 by the Tranport Act of 1947 and is not part of British Railways.