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C1885
The Heri-Rud & Murghab Rivers and Immediate, T…
Mapmaker:
Scarce c.19th map of the Herat region of Afghanistan. The city of Herat and the adjoining region of Badghis were part of the territory to which the Qajar dynasty of Persia was forced to relinquish its claims following the Anglo–Persian … Read Full Description
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Details
Full Title:
The Heri-Rud & Murghab Rivers and Immediate, Territory from Merv to Herat.
Date:
C1885
Mapmaker:
Condition:
Narrow top left margin as always, otherwise in good condition, with folds as issued. Sold folded.
Technique:
Lithograph printed in colour.
Image Size:
280mm
x 522mm
Paper Size:
320mm
x 570mm
AUTHENTICITY
Genuine antique
dated:
1885
Description:
Scarce c.19th map of the Herat region of Afghanistan. The city of Herat and the adjoining region of Badghis were part of the territory to which the Qajar dynasty of Persia was forced to relinquish its claims following the Anglo–Persian War of 1856–57. Under the terms of 1857 Treaty of Paris, the Persians were compelled to withdraw from Herat, leaving the city under Afghan control. Britain’s interest in Herat was linked to the intense rivalry between it and Russia in what has come to be known as the Great Game. The object of this rivalry was the control of Central Asia. The annexation of Merv by imperial Russia in 1884 sent waves of concern reverberating throughout the British Empire. The British feared that from Merv the Russians had gained new access to British India via the Hari Rud valley and the city of Herat. The map depicts the Badghis region and surrounding areas stretching from the Merv oasis in the north to Herat in the south, an area of great strategic concern for the British in 1885. The map was compiled from a survey conducted by the Afghan Boundary Commission, a joint British and Russian body
Issued by the Royal Geographical Society.
Edward Weller (1819 - 1884)
Distinguished British cartographer, engraver, and publisher whose work contributed significantly to the popular dissemination of geographic knowledge in the mid to late c.19th. Active during a period of rapid expansion in global exploration and imperial cartography, Weller became one of the foremost mapmakers associated with The Weekly Dispatch Atlas and later the London Atlas of Universal Geography, works that brought high-quality maps to a broad middle-class readership.
Born in London in 1819, Weller trained as a draughtsman and engraver in an era when advances in lithography and steel-plate engraving were transforming the mapmaking industry. By the 1840s, he had established himself at 34 Red Lion Square, Holborn, where he operated as an engraver, draughtsman, and publisher. His early work included finely engraved maps for a variety of publishers and periodicals, but he rose to prominence through his long association with the publisher Cassell, Petter & Galpin.
Edward Weller’s contributions helped standardise mid-Victorian cartographic design and facilitated public engagement with geography through affordable, well-made maps. He remained active in London until his death in 1884. His output represents a bridge between the artisanal engraving traditions of the early nineteenth century and the industrial lithographic production that came to dominate the later Victorian period.
