Philippe Vandermaelen
Iraq centring on Baghdad, 1827
18 ½ x 19 ½ in
47 x 49 cm
47 x 49 cm
MEAST3973
Asie - Partie de la Perse et de la Turquie. No. 64 A map of Mesopotamia, or modern-day Iraq, centring on Baghdad and showing the courses of the Tigris...
Asie - Partie de la Perse et de la Turquie. No. 64
A map of Mesopotamia, or modern-day Iraq, centring on Baghdad and showing the courses of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Also included are parts of modern-day Syria, Kurdistan, and the Zagros and Alborz Mountains which mark the border with Iran.
Aside from the rivers detailed across the map, it shows an early road network and irrigation system. Surrounding Baghdad, an elaborate and ancient canal system diverts the water flowing from the Tigris and Euphrates to provide water to the villages and towns not directly on the rivers. To the east of the city an annotation describes the seasonal flooding due to the snow in the mountains melting in April and following the rains in November. The map also includes an early reference to the 'Naphtha' pits, a flammable crude oil/tar.
The map includes a table of comparative figures in the lower-left corner listing area size (in square miles) against population sizes, nationalities, and number of followers of particular faiths in those countries and regions. Above the table a small panel of text describes Mesopotamia as a once flourishing country that is now desolate with little natural wealth
Philippe Vandermaelen
Philippe Vandermaelen was born in Brussels in 1795 and, at the age of 21, inherited a fortune from his father who had been a successful soap manufacturer. Financially independent, Vandermaelen was able to devote his life to the study of geography and in 1829 he founded a geographical institute in Brussels.
Vandermaelen's most important work, entitled "Atlas Universel", was an enormous atlas consisting of over 400 separate map sheets covering the world on the huge scale of 1:1,6 million. Each map sheet was designed using a special projection so that, if the owner of the maps so wished, they could all be joined together to form a globe with a diameter of 7.75 meters (This globe was actually built in Vandermaelen's institute in Brussels). The map sheets were printed using the process of lithography, which was an early use of this printing method for map making, and were then usually delicately hand coloured to emphasise boundaries and outlines. The complete atlas took only 3 years to make, a very short time for such a large project, and it was sold in instalments over a two year period from 1825.
Examples of Vandermaelen's map sheets are of great interest to the collector for a number of reasons. Firstly their large scale. The sections depict many of the remoter regions of the world on a scale previously unknown or unattainable. The sheets covering the western United States and Pacific Islands, where exploration was still in very early stages, are unique in this respect. Their historical insets, descriptions and statistics, along with their great visual clarity, make Vandermaelen's maps fascinating and valuable antique documents which also have superb visual appeal.
Original hand colour. [MEAST3973]
A map of Mesopotamia, or modern-day Iraq, centring on Baghdad and showing the courses of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Also included are parts of modern-day Syria, Kurdistan, and the Zagros and Alborz Mountains which mark the border with Iran.
Aside from the rivers detailed across the map, it shows an early road network and irrigation system. Surrounding Baghdad, an elaborate and ancient canal system diverts the water flowing from the Tigris and Euphrates to provide water to the villages and towns not directly on the rivers. To the east of the city an annotation describes the seasonal flooding due to the snow in the mountains melting in April and following the rains in November. The map also includes an early reference to the 'Naphtha' pits, a flammable crude oil/tar.
The map includes a table of comparative figures in the lower-left corner listing area size (in square miles) against population sizes, nationalities, and number of followers of particular faiths in those countries and regions. Above the table a small panel of text describes Mesopotamia as a once flourishing country that is now desolate with little natural wealth
Philippe Vandermaelen
Philippe Vandermaelen was born in Brussels in 1795 and, at the age of 21, inherited a fortune from his father who had been a successful soap manufacturer. Financially independent, Vandermaelen was able to devote his life to the study of geography and in 1829 he founded a geographical institute in Brussels.
Vandermaelen's most important work, entitled "Atlas Universel", was an enormous atlas consisting of over 400 separate map sheets covering the world on the huge scale of 1:1,6 million. Each map sheet was designed using a special projection so that, if the owner of the maps so wished, they could all be joined together to form a globe with a diameter of 7.75 meters (This globe was actually built in Vandermaelen's institute in Brussels). The map sheets were printed using the process of lithography, which was an early use of this printing method for map making, and were then usually delicately hand coloured to emphasise boundaries and outlines. The complete atlas took only 3 years to make, a very short time for such a large project, and it was sold in instalments over a two year period from 1825.
Examples of Vandermaelen's map sheets are of great interest to the collector for a number of reasons. Firstly their large scale. The sections depict many of the remoter regions of the world on a scale previously unknown or unattainable. The sheets covering the western United States and Pacific Islands, where exploration was still in very early stages, are unique in this respect. Their historical insets, descriptions and statistics, along with their great visual clarity, make Vandermaelen's maps fascinating and valuable antique documents which also have superb visual appeal.
Original hand colour. [MEAST3973]
