1858 Plan of Delhi and its Environs
By: Edward Weller
Date: 1858 (circa) London
Dimensions: 12.5 x 17.4 (31.8 x 44.2 cm)
This scarce map of Delhi depicts the city as it appeared shortly following suppression of the Indian Mutiny of 1857.
The intriguing plan depicts ‘Old Delhi’, which Shah Jahan founded as the new Mughal capital in the 17th century, and appears to have been based to some extent on an 1857 map which featured the walled city of Delhi only, published by the Ordnance Survey Office at Southampton, to which were added details with respect to outlying areas.
The map appears on the market only occasionally and is one of the few obtainable mid-nineteenth century maps of Delhi. It was designed by the prominent London cartographer Edward Weller for an 1863 edition of Cassell’s Weekly Dispatch Atlas, which featured a series of maps, all of which have the distinctive sign of a half globe with the figure of Mercury above, caduceus in hand.
Highly detailed, the map depicts what today is Old Delhi west of the Yamuna (Jumna) River, which flows from glaciers in the Himalayas. The map also depicts the old city walls, palaces, major gates of the city, bazaars, mosques, temples and churches. Burial sites such as ‘Khans Tombs’, a lunatic asylum and a slaughter house are also noted. Streets and municipal buildings are depicted, as are the cantonments (permanent military stations in British India) to the north of the city and the pontoon bridge crossing the Jumna.
Condition: This map is in A- condition with light foxing and toning. A minor separation at the left edge has been repaired with archival material on the verso.
Inventory #11351
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