Afrika

This grand map of Africa shows almost no political detail whatsoever with the exception of some major coastal ports. Instead, the emphasis is on the topographical and geographical aspect.

Extraordinary use of engraving emphasises the size and extent of mountain ranges as well as the sheer variety in the landscape of the continent. The other feature most emphasized are the great rivers of Africa; the Nile is shown as flowing into the newly discovered Lake Victoria, through Lake Albert. The river Congo is called the Zaire on this map and much of it is shown as a possible course as it had not been truly mapped yet.

It would be Henry Morton Stanley who would mount an expedition in 1876 -77 to follow its course into the interior of Africa. In contrast, the River Quorra or the Niger River is shown in its entirety, reflecting the exploration made by various English and French explorers in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Finally, one must also mention the inclusion of various lakes that had been discovered and are prominently marked on the map, including Lakes Victoria, Albert, Tanganyika and Nyassa. There are also two mythical lakes, one unnamed and marked northwest of Lake Albert and the other is the mythical Lake Liba or Riba, supposedly in the Cameroon Highlands.

G. Woldermann was a German publisher who specialised in topographical, geological and relief maps. He is particularly well known for producing a series of relief maps of all over the world.

Original hand colour. Folded. [AFR5946]