A highly unusual 19th-century wood-engraved map of Asia,
printed in reverse with white lines on a black background in the style a
photographic negative.

The map reflects Asia as it was in the early to mid-19th
century. China appears as the Chinese Empire, India is named as Hindustan, and Istanbul
is titled Constantinople. Vietnam still exists as Cochin China, and Taiwan is
yet to be renamed from Formosa. The Aral Sea also remains undrained.

This map was engraved by Joshua Archer and Sidney Hall and
published in London by William Edwards for The Guide to Knowledge, an
educational periodical edited by the British publisher and educational writer,
William Pinnock. The periodical ran from approximately 1832 to 1839, issued in
serialized parts that were later often bound into volumes. Pinnock’s goal was
to democratize knowledge, offering low-cost educational resources at a time
when formal schooling was inaccessible to many. The periodical included
articles, diagrams, and maps—many engraved specifically for the
publication—covering a wide range of subjects, from geography and astronomy to
history and general science. This specific map was likely issued in an edition
of this periodical between 1833 and 1834. [AS685]