1853 Map of the Ottoman Empire The Black Sea and the Frontiers of Russia and Persia
By: James Wyld II
Date: 1853 (published) London
Dimensions: 15.75 x 23.5 (40 x 60)
This beautiful and remarkably well-preserved pocket map with linen backing was created and published in November1853, just one month following the outbreak of the Crimean War.
The territory covered by the map stretches from as far west as Vienna, the Adriatic Sea and the heel of the boot of Italy all the way to the shores of the Caspian Sea including a portion of its shoreline in Persia. Cyprus and Crete are depicted along with numerous of the Greek islands. Toponyms of cities, towns and villages are provided, and roads and railways are denoted. A series of five inset maps provide more detailed information of Odessa, Sevastopol, the Georgian port city of Batoum, the Dardanelles and the crowded channel of the Bosphorus.
The map comes in folding pocket-book form with original embossed fabric cover on which the map is called Theatre of War in Turkey, below which is noted the name of its maker, James Wyld, at Charing Cross East London. James Wyld was Geographer to the Queen (Victoria) and HRH, Prince Albert.
The Crimean War
Great Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire declared war on Russian on March 28, 1854. Despite an ongoing Ottoman presence/threat in eastern Europe, Turkey was supported by several western European powers, including France, Britain, and Sardinia. This support was based on western Europe’s need to prevent Russian expansion in the territories bordering the Black Sea, and the West’s numerous long-established ports. Russian expansion was perceived as a direct threat to European positioning in the Black Sea area, the Mediterranean region and the Middle East. Russia ostensibly was concerned about the rights of Christians in the Holy Land and other Ottoman controlled territories.
Numerous of the battles in the war took place in the southern Crimean region, including the engagement at the city of Sevastopol known as the Battle of Balaclava on October 25th of 1854, which inspired the poem The Charge of the Light Brigade, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, written by Dec 9th, 1854. The Charge, an attempt by an English cavalry unit to destroy Russian battery forces, resulted in catastrophic losses for the unit and the famous line of Lord Tennyson’s poem ‘And into the valley of death rode the six hundred’.
The Crimean War ended with the Treaty of Paris of 30 March 1856. The treaty saw the Russian Empire forced to relinquish control of territories it had won from the Ottomans.
Condition: This lovely map by one of England’s premier mapmakers is in A condition. Slight separation from cover but otherwise remarkably clean, showing few signs of use. The embossed fabric cover is in good condition.
Inventory #12690
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