Rare example of an early recreational map focusing on the shooting areas in the region of the Yangtse Kiang Delta. 
This is a very unusual example of a thematic map focusing on the hunting districts of the delta of the Yangtze River. Its bright colour illustrates the extraordinary biome of the region. Literally thousands of small channels, brooks, streams and rivers serve to illustrate this unique environment. Over a period of centuries, these waterways changed constantly as the river flooded regularly and the rich fertility of the area produced a vast quantity of game birds, which are the subject of this map.
Mann’s map covers what is now mainly the districts of the conurbation of Shanghai although the cities of Hangchow or modern Hangzhou, Nanking or Nanjing and Soochow or Suzhou are also marked. Thick red lines show the newly opened railways while dotted lines in the same colour show those under construction. Swamps and higher areas are also easily discernible. Settlements and features are labelled bi-lingually in English and Mandarin.
The map is derived from another map by H.T. Wade covering the same area and on the same theme but issued in 1893. Wade was a long time resident and tea trader in Shanghai and an enthusiastic sportsman, particularly in cricket and shooting. This survey is very likely based on first hand information as hunters require specific details on their maps. Unusually, Wade’s map was signed and numbered suggesting a very small print run meant for fellow enthusiasts.
Gother Frederick Mann, who was contemporaneous to Wade, was a former army officer who served in China in 1857-61 and retired in 1874. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that the two were acquainted. Mann’s map seems to have had a wider commercial circulation and was completed by Helen Mann. It is larger in size but is also aimed at the shooting enthusiast and covers the same area although its information has been substantially updated, particularly in the case of showing additional railways. Both maps are very rare and highly collectable.
Original colour. Folded.