The World on Mercator's Projection
| Reference: | ms2576 |
| Author | Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge |
| Year: | 1853 ca. |
| Zone: | The World |
| Printed: | London |
| Measures: | 670 x 390 mm |
| Reference: | ms2576 |
| Author | Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge |
| Year: | 1853 ca. |
| Zone: | The World |
| Printed: | London |
| Measures: | 670 x 390 mm |
Description
This delicately detailed map on two separate sheets presents a considerable amount of information. The United States is shown excluding the Southwest and Texas. Texas was an independent country from 1836-1845, but it is shown here as part of Mexico. The northern border of the United States and Canada shows the disputed border for Oregon Territory coming down to about the 45th parallel, which reflects British claims in that region. This was finally solved in 1846 with the Oregon Treaty fixing that border at the 49th parallel. The Arctic region shows the extent of contemporary knowledge, noting nothing besides Packed Ice north of the Bering Strait. Africa is shown with much of its interior left unmapped - that region was not mapped thoroughly until the latter part of the 19th century. An attractive an informative map surrounded with a keyboard style border.
The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, or SDUK, was established in 1826 to provide scientific and other information to the British middle and working classes.
The Family Atlas was published by Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. The SDUK published several editions of its atlas. Dates I have seen quoted are 1829-32, 1840, 1844, and 1846. In 1848 the SDUK ceased to be active, but works which it had commissioned continued to be published.
Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (Londra 1826 - 1848)
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The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (1826 - 1848) was a Whiggish organization founded in 1828 on the initiative of English idealist Henry Peter Brougham. The Society's admirable aim was to distribute useful information through a series of publications to the English working and middle classes. It promoted self-education and egalitarian sharing of all knowledge. Although closely associated with the University of London and publishing houses such as Baldwin and Cradock, Chapman and Hall, and Charles Knight, the Society failed to achieve its goals and closed its doors in 1848. Most likely, the failure of the Society was due to the fact that its publications were too expensive for the lower-middle class market for which they were intended, but not large and refined enough to interest the aristocratic market. Nevertheless, the Society managed to publish several extraordinary atlases that were very detailed and sophisticated. Their most important atlas consisted of some 200 separately issued maps, initially published by Baldwin and Cradock and sold by subscription from 1829 to 1844. Later, the Society combined the maps into a single world atlas published under the Chapman and Hall label. At the time, this atlas was unprecedented in quality, scope, and affordability. Today, the Society's maps, or S.D.U.K. as it is commonly called, are among the most impressive examples of mid-nineteenth-century English mass cartographic publishing. S.D.U.K. is best known for its beautiful and accurately detailed city plans.
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Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (Londra 1826 - 1848)
|
The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (1826 - 1848) was a Whiggish organization founded in 1828 on the initiative of English idealist Henry Peter Brougham. The Society's admirable aim was to distribute useful information through a series of publications to the English working and middle classes. It promoted self-education and egalitarian sharing of all knowledge. Although closely associated with the University of London and publishing houses such as Baldwin and Cradock, Chapman and Hall, and Charles Knight, the Society failed to achieve its goals and closed its doors in 1848. Most likely, the failure of the Society was due to the fact that its publications were too expensive for the lower-middle class market for which they were intended, but not large and refined enough to interest the aristocratic market. Nevertheless, the Society managed to publish several extraordinary atlases that were very detailed and sophisticated. Their most important atlas consisted of some 200 separately issued maps, initially published by Baldwin and Cradock and sold by subscription from 1829 to 1844. Later, the Society combined the maps into a single world atlas published under the Chapman and Hall label. At the time, this atlas was unprecedented in quality, scope, and affordability. Today, the Society's maps, or S.D.U.K. as it is commonly called, are among the most impressive examples of mid-nineteenth-century English mass cartographic publishing. S.D.U.K. is best known for its beautiful and accurately detailed city plans.
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