Gibier

1899 · rif. 155664 — Dehra Dún India & Berlin: Photozincographed at the Office of the Trigonometrical Branch Survey of India & Dietrich Reimer 1899-1904. Remarkable assemblage of three important and superbly detailed maps A rare opportunity to acquire three exceptionally impressive and uncommon maps together forming the finest contemporary cartographic overview of the Great Game's central theatre. Spanning from the Mediterranean to Afghanistan and from the Caspian to Sir Baniyas Island they present a striking synoptic view of the region at a moment of intense strategic interest. All three share the same provenance each bearing the distinguished bookplate of the officers' mess library of the 85th Foot later part of The King's Light Infantry. Likely acquired as a group by an officer attuned to imperial affairs in the run-up to or immediate aftermath of the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention they reflect the period's effort as Hopkirk notes to resolve regional rivalries and curb Germany's eastward ambitions. The Persia map is a landmark Survey of India production and the most comprehensive rendering of the region then available incorporating the latest British and Russian surveys and reconnoitres. Only 300 copies of this August 1904 issue were printed and institutional locations are limited to the British Library Deutsche Nationalbibliothek and Sächsische Landesbibliothek. The impressive wall map of Afghanistan June 1901 produced under Strahan and Gore and executed at the Frontier Drawing Office under Colonel R. A. Wahab is equally rare with copies recorded only at the British Library Wisconsin and the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. Its authority rests on extensive British and Russian sources including work by Robertson Trotter Sykes Ney Elias and the Afghan Boundary Commission. These maps exemplify the Survey of India's exacting standards during the era of photozincographic production when officers were required to vet every detail under magnification. Kiepert's map of the Ottoman Empire complements the two Survey of India sheets representing the best contemporary mapping of a region Britain could not itself survey. Kiepert one of the foremost scholarly cartographers of the 19th century travelled widely in Ottoman territories producing clear and remarkably accurate maps that remain valuable records of the period. This map is comparatively well represented institutionally with around 17 holdings recorded in Europe the US and the UK. Persia: scale 1:1013760 six-sheet coloured map divided into four linen-backed quadrants each measuring approx. 976 x 963 mm when assembled measuring 1952 x 1926 mm North West North East South West South East each backed with Nonpareil pattern marbled paper each section dissected into 20; Afghanistan: scale 1:1013760 coloured map dissected into 45 sections linen backed measuring approx. 1035 x 1640 mm; Turkey: scale 1:1500000 coloured map dissected into 65 sections linen backed measuring approx. 1016 x 1700 mm; together with the "Apercu general" measuring 412 x 570 mm showing the administrative division of the same area intended to accompany the map; dissected into 10 sections linen backed. Each map housed in the original dull purple morocco-grain cloth case Stanford's printed label to front. Cases a little worn with some loss of fabric light toning to maps otherwise in excellent condition. Cases a little worn with some loss of fabric occasional light toning to maps otherwise in excellent condition. Kourosh Ahmadi Islands and International Politics in the Persian Gulf: Abu Musa and the Tunbs in Strategic Perspective 2008; Kyle J. Gardner The Frontier Complex: Geopolitics and the Making of the Indo-China Border 1846-1962 2021; Peter Hopkirk The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia 1992. hardcover