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Description

Mapping the First Opium War

Rare separately issued hand-colored engraved map of eastern China published during the First Opium War (1839-1842).

The map includes several insets:

  • Attack of Canton under the command of Sir Hugh Gough KCB 25th May 1841.
  • Attack on the Forts in the Canton River
  • The Harbour & Island of Amoy
  • Plan of the City of Pe-Kin
  • Plan of the City of Ting-Hai in Chusan

First Opium War

The First Opium War came about in large part because of Chinese efforts to stem the flow of opium from British India into the country. Opium was one of the few foreign goods in demand in China, and as such, the British exported it to China, usually through middlemen, in an effort to even out the balance of trade. After Qing Dynasty officials took decisive steps to end the import of the drug, the British fleet made its way up the Chinese coast attacking forts and cities, starting near Canton in June of 1840.

The war concluded with a decisive British victory; having suffered only 69 killed, the British killed or wounded some 18,000-20,000 Chinese.

The present map illustrates the theater of the war along the east coast of China.

James Wyld

James Wyld was a geographer, map-seller, and member of the British Parliament. He is best known for Wyld's Great Globe, a hollow sphere which contained a staircase and elevated platforms, allowing the public to climb and view the surface of the Earth.

Wyld was the sole owner of a thriving family map-making business based in Charing Cross. His maps covered regions from London to the gold fields of California. His maps were highly regarded and he had, as his father before him, an excellent reputation as a map-maker. Wyld was elected as a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in 1839 and was appointed Geographer to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

Wyld had an opportunistic approach to the business. He was not only a prolific publisher of maps and guides but also a founder and patron of the Association of Surveyors and the Surveyors' Institution. He supported the Surveyors' Institution in an effort to lobby against the Ordinance Survey, as he felt its activities threatened his business. While his lobbying efforts failed, he did become one of the distributors of its printed maps.

Condition Description
Dissected and laid on linen, as issued.
James Wyld Biography

James Wyld Sr. (1790-1836) was a British cartographer and one of Europe’s leading mapmakers. He made many contributions to cartography, including the introduction of lithography into map printing in 1812.

William Faden, another celebrated cartographer, passed down his mapmaking business to Wyld in 1823. The quality and quantity of Faden’s maps, combined with Wyld’s considerable skill, brought Wyld great prestige.

Wyld was named geographer to Kings George IV and William IV, as well as HRH the Duke of York. In 1825, he was elected an Associate of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He was one of the founding members of the Royal Geographical Society in 1830. Also in 1830, his son, James Wyld Jr., took over his publishing house. Wyld Sr. died of overwork on October 14, 1836.

James Wyld Jr. (1812-87) was a renowned cartographer in his own right and he successfully carried on his father’s business. He gained the title of Geographer to the Queen and H.R.H. Prince Albert. Punch (1850) described him in humorous cartographic terms, “If Mr. Wyld’s brain should be ever discovered (we will be bound he has a Map of it inside his hat), we should like to have a peep at it, for we have a suspicion that the two hemispheres must be printed, varnished, and glazed, exactly like a pair of globes.”