Grand atlas map of Africa illustrating just how little European cartographers knew of the continent's interior at the beginning of the 19th century.

The maker of this map, John Arrowsmith was one of the leading mapmakers and publishers of the mid-19th century. He joined the family firm in his youth and by 1834, he published his most famous work, the London Atlas. This book of maps was re-printed several times and was being constantly updated, revised and expanded.

Arrowsmith was renowned for the neat and accurate style of his maps. He was also particularly praised for their accuracy. In this he was helped by being one of the founders members of the Royal Geographical Society. He became one of the principal map publishers for this august body. Simultaneously, he had connections with the Civil Service and it is not uncommon for his maps to have a note stating that they were based on Government documents. He was the only cartographer allowed this privilege and this enhanced his reputation for cartographic accuracy. It also meant that many of his maps served as models for other cartographers, both in the UK and abroad.

This map of Africa by Arrowsmith is the most accurate map of the Continent of its time. Unfortunately, as can clearly be seen, this does emphasize the total lack of information available of the interior of the continent. Whereas in earlier maps, the interior would be either divided into mythical kingdoms and empires, by this time, the prevalent cartographic philosophy was a much more accurate one; therefore, we can see a great deal of coastal detail, reflecting a vast amount of marine activity and here and here and there are pockets of information stretching a little inland. The Sahara is shown with various caravan routes crossing its vastness and the recently re-discovered city of Timbuktu is marked. For a long time, this had been the African equivalent of El Dorado. The main other areas of geographical activity are the Portuguese settlements on the West coast, the results of the explorations of Mungo Park on the Guinea coast and South Africa. The rest of it frankly is generally unknown.

Possibly as a result of maps like these, famous later explorers were inspired to organise expeditions into this mysterious interior. The publishing date of this example is 1842. Livingstone was already in Africa by this time and only 15 years later, Burton and Speke would set out on their landmark journey to find the source of the Nile.


Original hand colour. [AFR6124]