1842 SDUK Map/City Plan of Calcutta, India - Kolkata

Description

"Calcutta." Part of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge's Series of Maps. London: Chapman & Hall, 1842. Original, hand-colored, steel-engraved plan, with finely etched views beneath the city plan.  Excellent detail. Dimensions overall 13 1/2" x 16 1/8".
The SDUK began its map publishing project under the leadership of Captain Francis Beaufort R.N. in 1829, and published the maps in parts, haltingly, over the next 15 years, completing the series in 1844, finally permitting the publication of a whole atlas. Many of the maps were actually drawn by Beaufort, who at the time was the Hydrographer to the Royal Navy, and all were closely supervised by him. J. & C. Walker worked closely with Beaufort in engraving the maps. Finely engraved, beautifully hand-colored in outline, and carefully researched, the maps set a standard of excellence for commercial map-makers in England for decades to come. Some creasing to the left, otherwise excellent.