Greece – Tallis, John / Rapkin, John. (1817 – 1876).

Ionian Isles and Greece – With Vignettes of the Temple of Jupiter Olympus at Athens, Greek Corsairs off Corfu, Modern Greek and Ancient War Chariot. With Depiction of Two Wrestlers. Inset maps of Corfu and Stampalia also.

Original steel engraving / Vintage map. Drawn and engraved by John Rapkin. Partly hand-coloured. Illustrations by A.H. Wray and engravings by J.b Allen. London, Edinburgh & Dublin. J & F. Tallis, 1851. Plate Size: 30.5 cm x 25.3 cm. Sheet Size: 37.3 cm x 27.4 cm. Vintage 19th century map in very good condition.

Published in the Illustrated Atlas, And Modern History Of The World Geographical, Political, Commercial & Statistical, Edited By R. Montgomery Martin.
Beautiful map of Greece from the Victorian era. The marvelous vignettes may harken back to more ancient times but this was Greece of the mid-19th Century, a recently independent modern kingdom, the result of a successful war of independence in the 1820s waged by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire that had ruled Greece for hundreds of years. The Turkish territory in the Blakans can still be seen near to the north as the Greek frontier runs across from the Gulf of Arta to the Gulf of Volo. The Greek regions are listed as Livadia and (in the Peloponnese peninsula) Morea. The large island Negropont is also shown. The many islands off the mainland are also included: islands such as; Andro; Tino; Naxia; Santorini; Milo; Cerigo; Zante and; Cephalonia, to name but a few. The names of famous cities such as Corinth, Athens and Sparta are also included on the map. The rugged and mountainous topography of the region is depicted through hachuring. The major rivers, including the Aspropotamo (Achelous), are also shown on the map. A scale-bar is shown near the map’s lower decorative border.

John Tallis (7 November 1817 – 3 June 1876) was an English cartographic publisher. His company, John Tallis and Company, published views, maps and atlases in London from roughly 1838 to 1851.
Tallis set up as a publisher with Frederick Tallis in Cripplegate in 1842; the business moved to Smithfield in 1846, and was dissolved in 1849. From 1851 to 1854 Tallis operated as John Tallis and Company. He started The illustrated news of the world and national portrait gallery of eminent personages in 1858, selling it for £1,370 in 1861; it folded in 1863. (Wikipedia)

The most important project John Tallis undertook, was the ‘Illustrated Atlas’ from 1851. The original map we offer here, was part of this exceptional Atlas and all the maps it contained are still today considered as the last reminder of an era of lavish map production. Tallis worked the project together with John Rapkin (1815-1876) and it was Rapkin’s style and talent that we have to thank for when we marvel at these maps today. What makes these maps so special is the detail of engraved vignettes that surround the map and often show indigenous scenes, people in their environment and even more so, historical buildings or historical views of towns and cities, architecture and landscape.

The project of ‘The Illustrated Atlas’ was designed to be finished just in time for the anxiously awaited “Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations” or The Great Exhibition, sometimes referred to as the Crystal Palace Exhibition in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held, was an international exhibition that took place in Hyde Park, London, from 1 May to 11 October 1851. It was the first in a series of World’s Fairs, exhibitions of culture and industry that became popular in the 19th century, and it was a much-anticipated event.

The Great Exhibition was organized by Henry Cole and Prince Albert, husband of the reigning monarch, Queen Victoria. It was attended by numerous notable figures of the time, including Charles Darwin, Samuel Colt, members of the Orléanist Royal Family and the writers Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, George Eliot and Alfred Tennyson. Music for the opening was under the direction of Sir George Thomas Smart and the continuous music from the exhibited organs for the Queen’s procession was “under the superintendence of William Sterndale Bennett”. (Wikipedia)

• Keywords: 19.Jahrhundert · 19th Century · 19th Century Map · Athens · Balkan(s) · Cartography · Catalogue No.5 – Maps of the World · Europe · Greece · John Tallis Maps · Map · Original Map · Original Maps · Original Steel Engraving · Rare Map – Greece · Rare Map Middle East · Travel Europe – Rare · Travel Greece – Rare · Turkey · Vintage Map · Vintage Old Map
• Language: English
• Inventory Number: 200114AG

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