German edition of one of Captain Montgomerie's famous maps of the forbidden kingdom of Tibet. Showing the travels of two pundits travelling in 1865-7.

Captain, later Lieut. Col. Thomas George Montgomerie was a trained survey who participated in the Trigonometrical Survey of India. He was also tasked to recruit and train a group of native born soldier spies who could travel freely in northern India, the Himalayas and Central Asia. These individuals were adept at blending in with the population and covertly surveying the land. They were known as pundits and despite the publication of their surveys, their identity was kept secret until their retirement from the service. 

Montgomerie was also in charge of compiling and editing their notes and sketches which he would then use to draw important maps of the regions. 

This example is a German edition of a map showing the journey of two pundits through the closed kingdom of Tibet between 1865-7. The map has also been revised and augmented by Augustus Petermann before its inclusion in Petermann's geographical magazine, the "Mittheilungen". 

A large inset on the upper right shows the full extent of the journey of the pundits from Calcutta (Kolkata) to Tibet and throughout the region.

Original colour. [IC2998]