Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (SDUK)
Africa, 1879
13 1/2 x 16 in
34 x 41 cm
34 x 41 cm
AFR6430
A map of Africa showing the state of European exploration up to 1879. Much of the interior remains entirely unknown, though the discoveries of Livingstone, Stanley, Burton, Speke, Grant, and...
A map of Africa showing the state of European exploration up to 1879. Much of the interior remains entirely unknown, though the discoveries of Livingstone, Stanley, Burton, Speke, Grant, and other explorers have added significant detail to this map compared to earlier editions.
This map was first issued by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (SDUK) in the 1830s as part of their educational map series intended for "all classes of the community". A total of 209 maps were published over a 14 year period before the Society collapsed. The initial plates were published by Chapman and Hall under the direct supervision of the Society until 1842. In 1852 the plates were sold to George Cox, then to Edward Stanford in 1856, to Thomas Letts in 1877, and finally to Mason & Payne in 1885.
Consistent with the Society's mission, the maps are informative but not overwhelming, educational but not too dense, and plain without being unattractive. It is no wonder that they remained commercially attractive to later publishers for almost 50 years. This specific example is from an 1879 Letts edition of the SDUK Atlas.
Printed colour. [AFR6430]
This map was first issued by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (SDUK) in the 1830s as part of their educational map series intended for "all classes of the community". A total of 209 maps were published over a 14 year period before the Society collapsed. The initial plates were published by Chapman and Hall under the direct supervision of the Society until 1842. In 1852 the plates were sold to George Cox, then to Edward Stanford in 1856, to Thomas Letts in 1877, and finally to Mason & Payne in 1885.
Consistent with the Society's mission, the maps are informative but not overwhelming, educational but not too dense, and plain without being unattractive. It is no wonder that they remained commercially attractive to later publishers for almost 50 years. This specific example is from an 1879 Letts edition of the SDUK Atlas.
Printed colour. [AFR6430]
